This is outrageous and shame on ESPN if they listened. Even if the official is not biased, it lends to impression of bias, corruption or other impropriety.
If you are talking about television contracts, ESPN, Fox and the other networks are a lot and I mean a lot more influential than any official or the head of the officials. The networks provide the money and in America the person providing the money calls the shots.
Whoever produced the game is spineless and not an ethical member of the media. If someone attempts to order a member of the media not to report something, in my opinion it is now their obligation to report it. So when they say don't show the replays of fouls, it is now incumbent upon them to show the replays.
I literrally think I would have told the official to F off had he said that to me.