Behind the Whistle: Former Premier League referee Chris Foy explains the latest EFL decisions
Former Premier League referee Chris Foy examines decisions from the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two; including Lincoln's missed penalty and Port Vale's disallowed goal for offside
Wednesday 26 March 2025 12:30, UK
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 matchday, Foy will be here to run you through some refereeing matters in the EFL…
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Sky Bet League One
Lincoln City 0-0 Exeter City
Incident - Possible penalty, handball (Lincoln City)
Decision - No penalty (Lincoln City)
Foy says: "In my opinion, Exeter City's Jack McMillan is fortunate not to have been penalised for a handball offence here.
"As the full-back slides in to try and block the cross, the ball directly strikes his arm, which is raised and extended, in an unjustifiable position. Therefore, the correct decision ultimately would have been to award a penalty."
Peterborough United 3-0 Charlton Athletic
Incident- Possible penalty, foul (Peterborough United)
Decision - No penalty (Peterborough United)
Foy says: "This is a very good real-time judgement from the referee here, as he recognises that the Charlton Athletic defender gets a touch and plays the ball and doesn't foul his opponent.
"At full speed, it could appear that the Peterborough United attacker takes a touch away from his opponent and is then tripped however, the replays confirm the very good judgement that there is a touch on the ball.
"To identify that touch, particularly in a crowded penalty area, highlights the importance of awareness and positioning."
Sky Bet League Two
Port Vale 1-0 Morecambe
Incident - Goal scored, possible offside (Port Vale)
Decision - Goal disallowed, offside (Port Vale)
Foy says: "Although this seems like a fairly straightforward example of an offside decision, it is a good clip to highlight how quickly a picture can change.
"Firstly, from the initial through ball, the Port Vale attacker is in his own half and therefore onside. As the ball then ends up at the feet of the goalkeeper, the natural reaction would be to expect the ball to be cleared downfield.
"The goalkeeper clears the ball but immediately played back towards the goal by an attacker, ending up at the feet of Port Vale's Ryan Croasdale, who is in an offside position. Whilst he is quite clearly off, the assistant referee shows good awareness in what is a quickly changing picture."
Swindon Town 0-0 Accrington Stanley
Incident - Goal scored, possible foul (Swindon Town)
Decision - Goal disallowed, foul (Swindon Town)
Foy says: "When penalising a foul to disallow a goal, the referee should be looking for an unfair action that has a clear impact on the ability of the opposing player to play or challenge for the ball.
"In this instance, I do not see contact with the consequence of clearly impacting Accrington Stanley defender Farrend Rawson, so with a high threshold for penalising contact, the referee should have allowed the game to continue and not awarded a defensive free-kick.
"Although there is contact between the attacker and defender, there is not enough force for the defensive player to fall to the ground, and therefore I believe the referee incorrectly disallows this goal."
