The NFL has confirmed that the problem with the headsets of the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff in their match against the New England Patriots was down to an "electrical issue".

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and members of his staff struggled to communicate in the first quarter of the match as a fault allowed the Patriots' radio broadcast into their headsets.

Due to the spygate and deflategate scandals, speculation emerged that the Patriots could be involved, but the league has insisted that there was no foul play from the home side.

They said in a statement: "Based on our review to date, we believe that the audio interference on Steelers' headsets last night was entirely attributable to an electrical issue made worse by the inclement weather; that it involved no manipulation by any individual; and that the Patriots had nothing to do with it.

"The issue was promptly resolved and there were no further problems for the remainder of the game. We will continue to review the matter to determine if there are technical steps that can be taken to avoid similar problems from occurring in other games."

The Steelers added: "We have provided information to NFL representatives regarding issues that occurred Thursday night at Gillette Stadium with our coach-to-coach headset communications system.

"The problem was addressed during the game and we did not have further problems in the second half. We did not file a formal complaint, nor do we plan to do so."

The Patriots won the match 28-21 to move to 1-0 in their season.