Behind the whistle: Former Premier League referee Chris Foy explains the EFL’s latest decisions | Football news
In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy goes through a selection of key match decisions from the weekend’s EFL action.
Behind the Whistle aims to provide supporters of EFL clubs with an insight into decision-making considerations and also clarification of certain calls to enable an understanding of how the Laws of the Game are interpreted.
As part of Sky Sports’ regular post-match show, Foy will be here to take you through some refereeing questions in the EFL…
Burnley 0-0 Sunderland
Incident: Possible penalty and red card (Sunderland/Burnley)
Decision: Penalty awarded, no red card (Sunderland/Burnley)
says Foy: “There are several incidents within one here, as the referee has to decide whether or not Sunderland should be awarded a penalty, as well as any disciplinary action to be taken against the Burnley defender.
“Firstly, the referee judges that the incident happened inside the penalty area and awards a penalty. With the replays, we can see that the incident actually happened outside the field of play and the referee should therefore have awarded a free kick to Sunderland.
“As the foul occurred outside the penalty area and involved the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the correct disciplinary sanction in this incident should have been a red card for the Burnley defender.”
Portsmouth 2-1 Middlesbrough
Incident: Goal scored, possible offside (Portsmouth)
Decision: Shared goal, no offside (Portsmouth)
says Foy: “This is an excellent decision by the assistant referee as he remains alert to the movement of the Middlesbrough back line trying to catch the Portsmouth striker in the backfield as well as the movement of the forwards.
“When the ball is delivered into the path of Portsmouth’s number 30, Middlesbrough’s number 30 starts to come back before holding back the run slightly in an attempt to play the Portsmouth forward in the backfield.
“Despite this defensive manoeuvre, Portsmouth’s number 30 remains onside at the moment the ball is played and the assistant referee rightly keeps his flag down.”
Rotherham United 4-2 Charlton Athletic
Incident: Possible penalty, foul (Rotherham United)
Decision: No penalty, free kick awarded (Rotherham United)
says Foy: “The judge here very well identified the place of the offense that happened.
“When a foul is committed by a Charlton Athletic defender, it is difficult to tell in real time whether the trip occurred inside or outside the penalty area.
“The referee’s position and focus here allows him to make an excellent judgement, there are no obstacles and he can recognize that the foul occurred outside the penalty area. The free kick is the correct decision.”
Stevenage 1-2 Wigan Athletic
Incident: Possible red card, serious foul (Wigan Athletic)
Decision: Red card awarded (Wigan Athletic)
says Foy: “Although we cannot be certain whether the Wigan Athletic player intended to make contact with the Stevenage player where he was, the referee was right to award a red card for a serious offence.
“The Wigan player, to me, probably only intends to stop the counter-attack by cynically tripping the Stevenage player who was advancing with the ball, but in doing so he clearly catches the opponent with the nails of his boot and violently, on his opponent’s Achilles.
“Whether intended or not, the contact endangers the safety of the opponent and meets the threshold for a red card, which the referee correctly points out.”
Swindon Town 2-0 Barrow
Incident: Goal scored, possible offside (Swindon Town)
Decision: Goal awarded, no offside (Swindon Town)
says Foy: “One could argue that the match officials have two big decisions, and for me both are correct.
“Firstly, there is a suspicion of offside as Swindon’s number 10 is ruled out, but replays show that he timed his run well. The assistant referee correctly holds his flag down.
“Secondly, the referee has to make a decision on whether the attacker commits a foul on the goalkeeper or vice versa. He correctly recognizes that the ball is being played fairly and therefore there is no problem because the ball rolled into the net. .
“In an attack that was developing so quickly, both the referee and his assistant called both decisions well and the goal was rightly awarded.”
