Behind the whistle: Former Premier League referee Chris Foy explains the latest EFL decisions | Football News

In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy discusses a selection of key match decisions from recent games in the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two.

Behind the Whistle aims to provide supporters of EFL clubs with insight into decision-making and to clarify certain decisions so that they better understand how the Laws of the Game are interpreted.

As part of a regularly recurring feature on Sky Sport After a match day, Foy will be on hand to guide you through some of the refereeing issues in the EFL…

Millwall 2-3 Watford

Incident: Possible punishment – offence (Millwall)

Decision: No penalty (Millwall)

Foy says: “The decision not to award Millwall a penalty here seems the right one, given the high penalty threshold for offences.

“As Millwall’s number 19 takes his final touch before going down, the Watford defender pulls his foot away. It is difficult to be certain whether contact has been made, but if there is, it is almost certainly minimal. As such, the decision not to penalise is a credible one, in line with the high threshold.”

Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 Plymouth

Incident: Possible punishment – handball (Sheffield Wednesday)

Decision: No penalty (Sheffield Wednesday)

Foy says: “This clip is good from an educational point of view as it shows that although the ball hits the arm of the Plymouth Argyle No. 27, not every contact between the ball and the hand/arm results in a penalty.

“The referee rightly judges that the Plymouth player has his hand in a justified position given his action.

“When the ball is played by the attacker and comes into contact with the defender’s arm, the referee can see from his position that the Plymouth player is not trying to make himself bigger by moving his arm away from his body. The claim is therefore rightly dismissed.”

Burton Albion 2-3 Lincoln City

Incident: Possible Punishment – Violation (Lincoln City)

Decision: No Penalty (Lincoln City)

Foy says: “As the ball is swung to the other side, Lincoln City’s number 17 can be seen clearly trying to get away from a Burton Albion defender. The defender then holds the attacker who then falls to the ground.

“The action is a sustained and impactful action that has no football-related character and should therefore have been awarded as a penalty.

“The Burton Albion player has both hands on the Lincoln No. 17, which clearly affects the attacker’s ability to move towards the ball, and he makes no attempt to win the ball.”

Harrogate 0-2 Bromley

Incident: Possible offside goal (Bromley)

Decision: Goal awarded (Bromley)

Foy says: “This clip shows a good decision by the assistant referee, where there is no offside.

“The shot comes in and is kicked into the net by Bromley’s number 9. Although it is clear that he is the one who put the finishing touches on it, the assistant must determine whether or not he was offside at the moment the initial shot was passed to him.

“If you stop for a moment and look at Bromley’s #30 cross you can see that #9 is played onside by Harrogate’s #14 and the awarding of the goal is the correct decision.”