Mark Hittner Mark Hittner is an American football official in the National Football League ( NFL ) since the beginning of the 1997 NFL season . He works as a head linesman and wears the uniform number 28 . He is most notable for officiating in the last three of five Super Bowls , most recently in Super Bowl XL on February 5 , 2006 between the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers . Hittner played college football at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg , Kansas from 1976 to 1979 where he was an all - conference quarterback in 1978 - 79 and is the school ’ s second - leading career passer in yards ( 4 , 830 ) . Hittner was a college football official in the Big Eight / Big 12 Conference for 13 years prior to joining the NFL in 1997 . He worked the first Big 12 championship game at the Trans World Dome in St . Louis in 1996 , won by the Texas Longhorns over the Nebraska Cornhuskers , 37 - 27 . In the NFL , Hittner has officiated eight post - season assignments including Super Bowls XXXVI , XXXVIII , and XL in addition to two wild - card , one divisional , and 2 conference championship games . For the 2006 NFL season , Hittner is a head linesman on the officiating crew headed by referee Ed Hochuli and has worked with Hochuli since the 2000 NFL season . For the 2011 - 2012 NFL season , Hittner was the referee during the NFC Championship Game who blew his whistle unusually hastily to call a play dead on a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw when 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman stripped the ball . The official call was that forward progress had stopped , which negated the fumble , even though Bradshaw was still fighting for extra yardage when the ball was stripped . This call happened late in the fourth quarter in a tie game in field goal range for the 49ers who presumably would have run out the clock and kicked the field goal to advance to Super Bowl XLVI . The game went into overtime where the New York Giants would win . The day after the game , 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said the call was analogous to the controversial Tuck Rule during the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Raiders and Patriots . Outside of his NFL officiating duties , Hittner owns a financial services company in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area . Hittner is married and has three sons . Super Bowl XL . Hittner was the head linesman on the Super Bowl XL officiating crew headed by referee Bill Leavy . The game was most notable for the media and fan reaction to the officiating . Hittner is most notable for a touchdown call he made in the second quarter with two minutes remaining in the first half . On third down from the Seattle one - yard line , Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the snap , faked a handoff , and dove toward the left side of a pile along the goal - line before being hit by Seahawks linebacker D . D . Lewis . After first raising one hand ( as if to indicate that the quarterback was down ) , Hittner raised a second arm to signal a touchdown . The play stood after instant replay review . Hittner later said about the play , " That was probably the closest goal - line call I ' ve ever had . Jeez , that was close . My mechanics were not the best on that . I thought ' touchdown ' in my head , and then I went up with one arm , which means the play is over , but I should have gone with two arms . I was thinking one thing and did another . I ' ve seen a lot of video on it , and he ’ s in the end zone . It ' s not by a whole lot , but he ' s in there . "