A former Premier League referee has given his view on a decision that could have ended Sheffield Wednesday’s huge wait for a penalty.

The Owls were last given a spot kick when Marvin Johnson was brought down in the opening minutes of their ‘Hillsborough Miracle’ play-off semi-final win over Peterborough United. Having been given no fewer than 11 penalties in that amazing 2022/23 campaign, they went a whole season without last season. It means that at the time of writing the Owls have gone 456 days without a penalty.

It has become something of a running joke within the team and with social media accounts set-up to cheekily highlight just how long the wait has gone on, there have been strong appeals for a spot kick, the latest of which came in their 4-0 hammering of Plymouth Argyle last weekend.

Midfielder Svante Ingelsson was left perplexed after he thought Pilgrims midfielder Adam Forshaw had handled the ball in the area during the first half. Referee Lewis Smith turned down the appeal immediately and ex-top tier official Chris Foy believes he made the right call.

Foy told Sky Sports: “This clip is a good one from an educational point of view as it shows that, although the ball does hit the arm of the Plymouth Argyle no. 27, not every touch between the ball and the hand/arm is a penalty. The referee correctly judges that the Plymouth player has his hand in a justifiable situation, given his action.

“As the ball is played by the attacker and makes contact with the arm of the defender, the referee’s positioning allows him to see that the Plymouth player is not trying to make himself bigger by moving his arm away from his body and the claim is rightly waved away.”

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