In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy looks back at a series of key decisions from the weekend’s EFL matches.

Behind the Whistle aims to give supporters of EFL clubs an insight into decision-making considerations and clarify certain calls on how the rules of the game are interpreted.

As part of Sky Sports’ regular coverage after matchday, Foy is here to guide you through some officiating issues in the EFL…

Burnley 0-0 Sunderland

event: Possible penalty and red card (Sunderland/Burnley)

Decide: Penalty awarded, no red card (Sunderland/Burnley)

Foy says: “There were several incidents here as the referee had to decide whether Sunderland should have awarded a penalty and any disciplinary action needed to be taken against the Burnley defender.

“First, the referee judged that the incident occurred in the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick. Through replay, we can see that the incident actually occurred outside the penalty area, so the referee should have awarded Sunderland a free kick.

“As the attack took place outside the penalty area and denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, the correct disciplinary action in this incident would have been a red card for the Burnley defender.”

Portsmouth 2-1 Middlesbrough

event: Goal, possible offside (Portsmouth)

Decide: Goal, no offside (Portsmouth)

Foy says: “This decision by the assistant referee was excellent as he was alert to the movements of the Middlesbrough defense trying to catch the Portsmouth forward offside and the movements of the attackers.

“When the ball was passed into the path of the Portsmouth No. 30, the Middlesbrough No. 30 started to drop back and then kept running slightly in an attempt to get the Portsmouth attacker offside.

“Despite this defensive maneuver, Portsmouth’s No. 30 was still in position the moment the ball was kicked and the assistant referee correctly kept the flag low.”

Rotherham United 4-2 Charlton Athletic

event: Possible penalty, foul (Rotherham United)

Decide: No penalty, free kick awarded (Rotherham United)

Foy says: “The referee did a good job here identifying where the foul happened.

“When a Charlton defender commits a foul, it’s difficult to tell in real time whether the trip is inside or outside the box.

“The referee’s position and focus allowed him to make good judgements, there was no obstruction and he could identify the foul outside the penalty area. The free kick was the right decision.”

Stevenage 1-2 Wigan Athletic

event: Possible red card, serious foul (Wigan Athletic)

Decide: Wigan Athletic receive red card

Foy says: “While we cannot be sure whether the Wigan Athletic player intentionally made contact with the Stevenage player, the referee was right to award a red card for a serious foul.

“It seemed to me that the Wigan player was probably just trying to stop the counter-attack by cynically tripping the Stevenage player who was carrying the ball forward, but in doing so he apparently grabbed hard with the studs on his boot The opponent, the opponent’s Achilles.

“Whether intentional or not, this contact endangered the safety of the opponent and met the threshold for a red card, which the referee correctly showed.”

Swindon Town 2-0 Barrow

event: Goal scored, possibly offside (Swindon Town)

Decide: Goal, no offside (Swindon Town)

Foy says: “It’s fair to say the match officials had two important decisions to make here and for me they both made the right decision.

“First, Swindon’s No. 10 was suspected of being offside after the ball was played, but replays showed that his running time was good. The assistant referee correctly put down the flag.

“Secondly, the referee has the power to decide whether the attacker fouled the goalkeeper or vice versa. It was fair for him to correctly identify the ball, so there was no problem when the ball rolled into the net.

“In such a fast-moving attack, the referee and his assistants did a good job of making the right call and the goal was correct.”