Behind the Whistle: Former Premier League referee Chris Foy explains the latest EFL decisions

In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy goes through a selection of key match decisions from the weekend EFL 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…   

Swansea 0-2 Coventry

Incident: Goal scored, possible handball (Swansea)

Decision: Goal disallowed, handball

Foy says: “It’s good to see the speed of reaction and decisiveness shown from the referee to identify this handball offence.

“As the ball comes in from the corner, it clearly hits the arm of Swansea’s No 5 before his team-mate kicks it into the back of the net. The key judgement here is whether or not the handball is an offence, as an accidental handball would not be penalised as Swansea’s No 5 does not score the goal.

“Because the arm is an unnatural and raised position, making the body bigger, the goal is correctly ruled out for a handball offence.”

Watford 0-1 Norwich

Incident: Possible penalty and red card (Norwich)

Decision: Free-kick and caution

Foy says: “The referee has a couple of important decisions to make here.

“Firstly, he has to decide whether or not the foul on Norwich City’s No 9 is outside the box or not. Thanks to his movement and positioning, he is able to correctly identify that the contact is made outside the box and therefore awards a free-kick to Norwich.

“He then has to decide whether or not the foul has denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO). From the replay, we can see that the Norwich forward has the ball under control as he moves towards goal, and that he has an obvious opportunity for a shot on goal.

“The referee should therefore have shown the Watford player a red card for DOGSO.”

Crawley 1-2 Wrexham

Incident: Possible foul in build up to goal (Wrexham)

Decision: Goal awarded

Foy says: “Wrexham were fortunate for this goal to stand, as their No 38 clearly fouls his opponent before heading the ball into the net.

“As the ball is played out wide, the referee should be scanning across to the middle to see what is going on inside the crowded box.

“By focusing on the player crossing the ball in, he misses the sustained holding by Wrexham’s No 38 on his opponent. The pull was impactful and meets the threshold for a foul. Therefore a defensive free-kick should have been awarded.”

Reading 1-0 Bolton

Incident: Possible penalty, handball (Reading)

Decision: Penalty awarded

Foy says: “Although this looks slightly innocuous, it is the correct decision by the referee to award Reading a penalty for handball.

“As the ball is floated into the area, Bolton’s No 29 goes to head the ball away, and makes contact with the ball with his outstretched arm.

“The arm is in an unnatural and unjustifiable position, so penalty is the correct outcome.”

Doncaster 2-1 MK Dons

Incident: Goal scored, possible offside (Doncaster)

Decision: Goal awarded

Foy says: “Offside decisions in which defenders step up and try to play attackers offside can be difficult for assistant referees to judge, but he gets this one spot on.

“As Doncaster’s No 9 makes a run on goal, MK Dons’ No 26 attempts to play him offside. Although it is tight, the assistant gets it spot on and correctly leaves his flag down.

“When the picture crosses over and at such pace, it makes it more difficult to judge, but he does well here.”