Decoding EFL Decisions: Chris Foy Reveals Insights on Yu Hirakawa's Missed Handball for Bristol City

In "Behind the Whistle," former Premier League referee Chris Foy breaks down crucial match decisions from the latest matches in the Sky Bet Championship.

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 following the conclusion of a matchday, Foy will be here to run you through some refereeing matters in the EFL…

Sky Bet Championship

Preston North End 1-3 Bristol City

Incident - Goal scored, possible handball (Bristol City)

Decision - Goal awarded, handball missed (Bristol City)

Foy says: This is without doubt the decision that got the most attention across the weekend action in the Championship, as Bristol City scored a goal, which had a handball in the build-up.

As the ball is headed back towards the Preston North End goalkeeper by a team-mate, it is closed down by Bristol City's Yu Hirakawa, the attacking player then uses his arm to take the ball past the keeper before tapping it into the empty net.

Whilst it is clear from review of replays there is evidence that the attacker deliberately uses his hand, giving him an unfair advantage. It is extremely difficult for the referee in real-time to have an unobstructed view of the incident, given the close proximity of the three players involved in the challenge for the ball.

That makes it a real challenge for him to conclusively identify the point of contact with the ball and the actions of the attacker, while also hard for the assistant referee to see if an arm has been used due to his angle and distance on the far side of the pitch.

Although the correct decision would have, of course, been to disallow the goal and caution Hirakawa for deliberate handball, without the certainty to penalise a handball offence, the referee allows play to continue as he cannot guess.

Hull City 1-1 Portsmouth

Incident - Possible penalty, foul (Portsmouth)

Decision - No penalty, no foul (Portsmouth)

Foy says: This is a good clip for any aspiring officials as it shows the importance of reading the game and referee movement.

By creating an angle here and moving across to the left-hand side, the referee can identify that this contact between Portsmouth midfielder Callum Lang and Hull City's Xavier Simons was initiated by the attacking player.

Anticipation and movement create the opportunity for the referee to recognise that Lang moves his foot into the path of the Hull player, creating contact, therefore, he correctly waves play on and does not award the penalty kick.

Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Sunderland

Incident - Possible red card, serious foul play (Sunderland)

Decision - Red card awarded (Sunderland)

Foy says: This is a good example of the referee being composed, clear-thinking and taking positive action.

As the late tackle from Sunderland's Jobe Bellingham comes in, the referee blows, takes time to process what he has seen before showing the red card to the Sunderland man.

This decision is absolutely correct too, as the challenge is made with force and intensity, as well as having a high and full point of contact. The player has no complaints and is rightly dismissed for serious foul play having endangered the safety of his opponent.

Stoke City 2-1 Derby County

Incident - Possible red card, second caution (Derby County)

Decision - No second caution (Derby County)

Foy says: Derby County's Nat Phillips is fortunate to stay on the pitch here as he avoids a second yellow card for a foul on the edge of the penalty box.

Once the pass is released by Stoke City's Jun-Ho Bae, who is then caught, the referee correctly allows play to continue because Stoke can benefit from a very clear promising opportunity.

The challenge is clearly reckless, therefore the referee should then come back and caution the Derby County player, which would've ultimately resulted in a red card being shown.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-6 Watford

Incident - Possible penalty, handball (Watford)

Decision - Penalty awarded, handball (Watford)

Foy says: This is an exceptional bit of officiating from the referee here, correctly awarding Watford a penalty for handball.

As the ball is crossed into the box, Sheffield Wednesday defender Di'Shon Bernard attempts to head the ball away, misses it; however he makes himself bigger with the movement of his left arm, which is what the ball actually strikes.

It's still a difficult one for the referee to identify because of the nature of the attempted header but he takes his time before correctly pointing to the spot. The replays show how good of a decision it was, one that was not easy to spot in real time.