John Madden said the refs confirmed the Immaculate Reception because they wanted to get out of Pittsburgh alive.
I don’t think that’s comparable. Watch the play. The refs probably didn’t even know what happened. You can’t even tell on the replay.
Even decades later, it’s still impossible to review that play in slow motion and make a definitive call one way or another.
I watched the Immaculate Reception many times, never saw anything wrong with it. I have had my doubts about John Madden going way back, though.