Behind The Whistle: Listen to Referee Audio of Key Championship Decisions

Select Group 2 Referee Manager Kevin Friend and EFL Referee Matt Donohue casually review in-game audio from this season’s Championship Sky Sports’ David Prutton and explain referee decisions using match footage and previously unreleased audio…

Blackburn 0-0 Coventry

INCIDENT: Coventry’s Liam Kitching was sent off for a professional foul on Blackburn striker Sam Gallagher as he attempted to escape the defense.

Matt Donohue: “Liam Kitching denies Sam Gallagher an obvious chance to score because Gallagher would have been in goal.”

“We look at what other defenders might be covering, which direction the attacker is going and how far from the goal he is to see how likely it is that an obvious scoring opportunity will arise.”

“It’s a good decision.”

Middlesbrough 0-2 Stoke

INCIDENT: Middlesbrough defender Paddy McNair receives a yellow card for bringing down Stoke’s Mehdi Leris.

Matt Donohue: “There are differences [to the Kitching red card] in the sense of where the attack took place, which direction the player is going and which defenders.

“If McNair manages to pull back, he will be in a very wide position and therefore it is far less likely that there will be an obvious scoring opportunity.”

“There is also a covering defender who moves towards the spot where the challenge is, while the defender in the Blackburn clip moves away.”

Birmingham 1-1 Millwall

INCIDENT: Ryan Leonard’s goal was disallowed for Millwall after his volley hit teammate Jake Cooper on the way into the net and Cooper was found offside.

Kevin friend: “The assistant referee notes that three players are in an offside position, which the referee then determines is Cooper’s head.”

“If they notice that it comes off Cooper’s head and that he is in an offside position, active and influencing the play, then they correctly call the goal for offside.”

Watford 1-0 Sunderland

INCIDENT: Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien deliberately plays with his hand to prevent the ball from going over the goal line during a Watford attack and receives a yellow card.

Kevin friend: “The question here is whether this is a matter of denying an obvious scoring opportunity. You can clearly hear the assistant referee saying it’s a yellow card from his perspective on the line, so he has really good vision and depth vision.”

“There is some doubt because the ball is in the air, he doesn’t have full control of the ball and if the ball goes past O’Nien, would the player have control of that ball?”

“It’s a yellow card because the decision has too many variables.”

West Brom 0-1 Sunderland

INCIDENT: Brandon Thomas-Asante was sent off for West Brom against Sunderland after two yellows in quick succession.

Matt Donohue: “Everyone expects yellow cards in both duels. These fouls are close together and just before half-time, but these factors do not rule out that these are two reckless tackles and we have to deal with them with yellow cards.

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