Ex-Premier League referee doesn't think Sunderland's penalty against Luton should have been awarded

Former Premier League referee Chris Foy didn’t think that Sunderland’s penalty during the 1-1 draw with Luton on Saturday should have been awarded.

The Hatters were leading 1-0 at the Stadium of Light with four minutes to go, only to find themselves facing a fourth spot-kick in nine games when substitute Amad Diallo threw himself to the floor after a minor coming together against Amari’i Bell inside the box.

First time Championship official Scott Oldham appeared to have seen the incident and decided not to give anything, only to then whistle a good few seconds later after talking with his assistant, and point to the spot.

Diallo buried his effort past Ethan Horvath, as speaking afterwards, both manager Rob Edwards and captain Tom Lockyer couldn’t believe the decision had been given.

Speaking to the Sky Sports feature ‘Behind the Whistle’, which looks at a selection of key match decisions from the Championship, League One and League Two action, Foy felt that the visitors were hard done by.

He said: “There is certainly a pull on the arm of the Sunderland attacker as he enters the box, however this is a fleeting action and not sustained, so does not meet the required threshold for penalising a holding offence.

“A certain amount of contact is allowed in the game, I think the attacking player possibly slips at the end, rather than being clearly prevented from progressing as a consequence of the actions of the defending player, which makes the decision a more complex one for the referee.

"However, allowing play to continue would have been the best outcome in this situation.”