Monday 15 May 2017 15:18, UK
Following another round of Premier League fixtures, Ref Watch returns to debate a number of the weekend's controversial talking points.
Former top-flight official Dermot Gallagher has been in the Sky Sports News HQ studio to give his view on several incidents from the latest round of top-flight games.
Handballs, a two-touch penalty and a quickly taken free-kick all feature in this week's edition....
INCIDENT: David Silva scores but Raheem Sterling tries to play the ball when standing in an offside position
SCENARIO: Sterling attempts to play Silva's goal-bound shot but does not make contact. Leicester players appeal for offside against the England winger but referee Bobby Madley awards the goal.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: The key issue is, has Sterling played the ball? I'm not convinced he has. I don't believe Kasper Schmeichel can ever get that ball. The other player he can impact is Fuchs and if you look at Fuchs, he doesn't move because the ball is past him. Sterling was not in front of Schmeichel, he didn't block his view. By trying to kick the ball Sterling did not prevent Schmeichel from saving it and I don't believe he prevented Fuchs from playing it. But it does show how difficult it is to be an assistant!
INCIDENT: Fernandinho's challenge on Marc Albrighton
SCENARIO: The Leicester midfielder was left with a black eye after a collision with Fernandinho's elbow. The referee deemed the incident accidental.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: This is the most difficult thing. His arms are up but he didn't throw them. What you have to be careful of is when you see the injury it looks really nasty. You have to bear in mind that doesn't necessarily mean it was a nasty challenge. It was unfortunate I thought. Fernandinho would have been very unlucky to have been punished for that.
INCIDENT: Riyad Mahrez's penalty is disallowed
SCENARIO: The Leicester forward slips when taking his spot-kick and hits the ball twice before finding the net. The penalty is disallowed.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: The law was brought in to stop people dribbling in. What you would say is the slip helps the ball cannon into the top corner, so that gains a massive advantage. It was very unfortunate but the law is correctly applied.
INCIDENT: Peter Crouch appears to handball when scoring
SCENARIO: The Stoke striker diverts the ball past Petr Cech via his right hand but the goal is allowed to stand
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Incorrect decision
DERMOT SAYS: You can see how difficult this one was to spot by looking at Petr Cech. He had the best view and he doesn't even see the handball. Why Crouch didn't head it, I don't know. It's handball. He has led with his arm.
INCIDENT: Wilfried Zaha appears to handball in the build-up to Crystal Palace's second goal
SCENARIO: The ball strikes the Palace winger on the arm. Zaha then wins a corner, from which Christian Benteke scores
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Incorrect decision
DERMOT SAYS: Yes it is handball but it is very difficult for the assistant to see because his body is the other side. I saw three or four handballs at the weekend that weren't given and they all fell into the same category. They all happened to the wrong side of the referee. That's the consequence, Zaha's body shields it.
INCIDENT: The ball strikes Jason Puncheon on the arm inside the Palace box
SCENARIO: Hull felt they should have had a penalty when Kamil Grosicki's free-kick hit Puncheon on the arm but the referee instead awarded a corner
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Incorrect decision
DERMOT SAYS: Yes it was handball but the referee cannot see it because Puncheon's body is between him and the ball. That was the interesting factor in nearly every handball decision that wasn't given. The referee, for some unfortunate reason, was in a different position.
INCIDENT: Gylfi Sigurdsson appears to handle Seb Larsson's free-kick
SCENARIO: Sunderland's penalty appeal is denied when Larsson's free-kick strikes Sigurdsson on the arm.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Incorrect decision
DERMOT SAYS: This is the one that baffled me because I think it is handball, he puts his arm out. What doesn't help the referee is the fact he put the whistle to his mouth and then took it away. The players don't like that because they say, 'You were going to give it.'
INCIDENT: Georginio Wijnaldum is not penalised in the build-up to Coutinho's
SCENARIO: The Liverpool midfielder collides with Winston Reid and the ball strikes the Dutchman's arm too. Wijnaldum is not adjudged to have fouled or handballed and Liverpool break, eventually scoring their third goal of four.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: I didn't think this was handball. He has jumped and the ball struck his arm, there's no doubt about that. I thought there was more chance of the game being stopped for a head injury to the West Ham player than for handball. Whether the ball has been transferred upfield very quickly and the referee hasn't looked back, I don't know. It happened so quickly.
INCIDENT: Nacho's quickly taken free-kick
SCENARIO: The Real Madrid defender opens the scoring with a piece of quick thinking and the referee allows the goal to stand
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Incorrect decision
DERMOT SAYS: The referee should control the situation, stop and say, 'I'm taking the wall back, you cannot take the ball and kick it until I'm ready.' I believe that goal should have been disallowed and Nacho yellow carded. The referee is not even watching, you must be in control of the situation. He is trying to take the Sevilla players back so his priority at that point is to get them 10 yards. To do that you cannot take the free-kick until he blows his whistle. It's good thinking from Nacho because in that situation he scored but the only punishment if the referee brings it back to re-take is a yellow card. It's a gamble worth taking.
