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One of the replacement officials assigned to the New Orleans-Carolina game Sunday is a Saints fan, according to his Facebook page. After being made aware of the situation this morning, the NFL made the decision to pull side judge Brian Stropolo from the officiating crew and replace him with the alternate who travels with the crew.

Stropolo, who is from New Orleans and lists himself on Facebook as an NFL side judge, posted pictures of himself in Saints gear tailgating at an Aug. 25 preseason game. Stropolo did not work the game against the Texans, but he was assigned to Sunday's game in Carolina.

Stropolo worked the Week 1 opener between the Cowboys and Giants and posted on Sept. 5: "Thanks to everyone for all the support. The crew did a great job tonight. Next stop September 16th at Carolina vs the Saints."

[View Full Quote]Stropolo's status update drew 73 "likes" and comments such as "Hey, now be nice with those yellow flags for our Saints!!" and "That's awesome you get to be an official for a Saints game! I didn't think they would let you since your (sic) from Louisiana."

More: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/83...ns-saints-game