Former Premier League referee Chris Foy examines decisions from the latest Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two action; Southampton 5-3 Huddersfield, Leeds 3-0 Rotherham, Sunderland 3-1 Plymouth, Reading 2-0 Charlton, Barnsley 2-1 Leyton Orient, Swindon 1-1 Salford all analysed
Tuesday 13 February 2024 11:14, UK
In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy goes through a selection of key match decisions from the latest Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two action.
Behind the Whistle aims to give supporters of EFL clubs an insight into the decision-making considerations and also clarification of certain calls to provide an understanding of how the laws of the game are interpreted.
As part of a regular feature on Sky Sports following the conclusion of a matchday, Foy will be here to run you through some refereeing matters in the EFL…
Incident: Possible penalty - foul (Southampton)
Decision: No penalty awarded (Southampton)
Foy says: "The referee shows good anticipation of the developing phase of play and moves to give himself the best possible chance of making the correct decision.
"As the Southampton No 26 makes a run into the box, he goes down after contact between him and the Huddersfield defender. At full speed, it looks as if he may have been barged to the ground, but as can be seen from the replay the Huddersfield player gets his body in the way as they compete and doesn't commit a foul.
"Because the referee was so well positioned, he can see that the contact was normal football contact, in keeping with the high threshold for penalising, and he therefore correctly awards a corner kick."
Incident: Goal scored - potential handball (Leeds United)
Decision: Goal awarded (Leeds United)
Foy says: "This decision was one of the talking points of the weekend, and the replays confirm that Leeds' No 9 uses his arm to score the goal which put his side ahead.
"As the ball deflects into his path, he deliberately moves his arm towards the ball and uses it to divert the ball into the goal. Although the situation happens quickly, the replays show clearly that the Leeds player raises his arm and deliberately handles the ball, therefore this goal should have been disallowed and a yellow card shown.
"Whilst match officials need a high degree of certainty to disallow goals, there is no doubt they will be disappointed that they didn't detect this offence at the time."
Incident: Goal scored - possible offside (Plymouth Argyle)
Decision: No offside - goal awarded (Plymouth Argyle)
Foy says: "The decision by the assistant referee to keep his flag down here is an excellent one, as the initial camera angle gives the impression that it may have been an offside offence.
"As the long ball is played down the pitch, the assistant referee has to make a decision as to whether or not the Plymouth No 9 was in his own half at the point of contact. Despite it looking like he was offside on initial viewing, the replay clearly shows that the attacker was in his own half when the ball was played, meaning that he was onside.
"Very good concentration and awareness was shown by the assistant referee to make the correct decision."
Incident: Potential penalty - handball (Reading)
Decision: Penalty not awarded (Reading)
Foy says: "Charlton Athletic were fortunate here not to concede a penalty as the ball strikes the No 3 on the arm.
"As there are so many players in close proximity, the referee has to be absolutely certain that it comes off the hand/arm of the Charlton player and also evaluate whether any contact between the arm and ball is punishable.
"The replays show that even though the ball reaches him somewhat unexpectedly, the defender clearly moves his right arm, making his body bigger, preventing the ball progressing past him, and the laws say that this should be given as a penalty."
Incident: Goal scored - potential offside (Barnsley)
Decision: Goal awarded (Barnsley)
Foy says: "The decision to keep the flag down here is absolutely the correct one, and an excellent judgement from the assistant referee.
"Because the ball is played from deep and there are a number of runners, the assistant has more than one player to focus on. The Barnsley No 30 is the player that puts the ball in the net, and as you can see, he times his run to perfection.
"With a fast-developing picture, the assistant referee does very well to make the correct onside call."
Incident: Goal scored - potential foul (Salford City)
Decision: Goal awarded - no foul (Salford City)
Foy says: "In this situation, the Swindon No 22 tries to shield the ball out for a goal kick with the Salford No 9 trying to win the ball back, which he cleanly wins and does not foul the Swindon defender in the process.
"The referee correctly allows play to continue, and the player that made the initial tackle went on to score in the same phase of play."
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