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 latest action in the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two.

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 match-day, Foy will be here to run you through some refereeing matters in the EFL…   

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Sky Bet Championship

Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Bristol City

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Incident: Possible penalty (Bristol City)

Decision: No penalty, simulation (Bristol City)

Foy says: "This is a good example of decisive and confident refereeing, cautioning Bristol City's Anis Mehmeti for simulation.

"The Bristol City player moves into the penalty area with the ball and Blackburn Rover's Sondre Tronstad makes a movement to challenge and then pulls his foot away. We can see that he doesn't make any contact with his opponent, however, the Bristol City player goes down as though contact was made.

"It would have been easy for the referee to award a goal-kick and play on, however, his positioning allows him to correctly identify the attempt to deceive a match official. He therefore awards Blackburn a free-kick and shows a yellow card to the Bristol City player."

Millwall 0-1 Luton Town

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Incident: Possible penalty, foul (Millwall)

Decision: No penalty, no foul (Millwall)

Foy says: "This is a great example of how the referee's anticipation and movement help with making a decision, as he finds himself with a very good view of the action to be able to identify that no penalty is required.

"Millwall's George Saville chests the ball and runs after it and then plays the ball with his right foot. The referee is aware of the potential danger and the decision he may need to make next, moving to the left to open up the angle and see exactly what happens.

"He can clearly identify that both players are challenging for the ball that is in the air and that the Luton Town player does not foul his opponent, therefore play correctly continues."

Plymouth Argyle 3-2 Sunderland

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Incident: Possible penalty, push (Sunderland)

Decision: Penalty given (Sunderland)

Foy says: "One of the key points of emphasis communicated ahead of the season was the high threshold for penalising contact and that contact with clear consequence is where the threshold for penalties is set.

"In this case, the referee communicates that a penalty kick has been awarded for a push on Patrick Roberts by Plymouth Argyle's Bali Mumba, as he enters the penalty area.

"Although there is contact, we can see on the replay that this is minimal from the Plymouth Argyle defender and doesn't impact the ability of the attacking player to progress. Therefore, the correct action would have been for play to continue."

Sky Bet League One

Rotherham United 2-2 Burton Albion

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Incident: Goal scored, possible offside (Burton Albion)

Decision: Goal disallowed, offside (Burton Albion)

Foy says: "As far as offside decisions go, this is challenging and is an excellent call from the assistant referee to indicate offside, resulting in Burton Albion's goal being disallowed.

"The length of the pass and position from which it is played makes it a difficult call to make, but the assistant gets this very tight call spot on.

"If you pause the clip at the exact moment the ball is played, you can see that the Burton Albion player on the far side is just offside, going a split second before the defender he is directly up against. This highlights the importance of awareness and positioning when it comes to making accurate judgements."

Sky Bet League Two

Carlisle United 2-3 Fleetwood Town

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Incident: Possible penalty, foul (Carlisle United)

Decision: Penalty awarded (Carlisle United)

Foy says: "The actions of Fleetwood Town's Brendan Wiredu leave the referee with no choice but to award the penalty kick here, as his outstretched leg misses the ball and clearly trips Carlisle United's Jordan Jones inside the penalty area.

"As the Carlisle man charges into the box, Wiredu commits to a challenge, inheriting the risk. The contact clearly has the consequence of tripping the Carlisle attacker and the referee therefore correctly points to the spot."