■ How did Sven Botman avoid a red card? ■ Were Rogers or Garner lucky? ■ Can players kick the ball away now? ■ What are the rules over crowding the ref? In his latest Ask the Ref column, former EPL referee @Refsplaining answers your questions. 🔗 nyti.ms/4k5w2dA

The KMI panel was supposed to improve the scrutiny of refereeing. It hasn’t worked out that way. This is what you need to know about the panel and why it isn’t working, including: ▪️ Who is really on the panel ▪️ How it feels to be judged post-match ▪️ Explaining the voting - and what training panellists receive ▪️ How it can be improved 📝 @refsplaining nyti.ms/3Tjb2VY

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡? — 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘼 Former Premier League referee Graham Scott (@refsplaining): I have absolutely no idea, sorry. The evidence is irrefutable that Anderson handled deliberately in his own penalty area, batting the ball away under pressure from Enzo Le Fee. A split second earlier, the ball also hit the hand of Le Fee, whose arm was raised and away from his body. But it was in a justifiable position given his actions and had deflected off his own shoulder, which would give him complete mitigation because the ball changed direction significantly. While an intervention might have been a hard sell given the ball struck both players’ hands, the VAR would have had the law on his side. 🔗 nyti.ms/3VowJo0

Some good news for Premier League officials in a difficult week: they are ensuring we get to watch more football this season. With new laws this season on how long players take in a variety of game situations, we reveal that: ▪️ Substitutions are being conducted more quickly ▪️ Most teams are taking goal kicks, throws and corners faster ▪️ Overall restart times are down ▪️ Ball-in-play is up to 57.8 per cent ▪️ Plus what still needs to improve 📝 @Conor0Neill_ Free to read: bit.ly/479LopC

■ Why a “parallax” makes it impossible to judge offside through TV images ■ The two companies involved in offside decisions ■ The error that was made by the VAR and others There was an “error of judgement” involved in allowing Erling Haaland’s goal for Manchester City that won the derby against Manchester United. The Athletic’s @Refsplaining has broken down every step of the process — and what will have gone wrong. 🔗 nyti.ms/4r8kBmS

"Mike Dean claimed in an interview on a podcast that ‘we’ used to go as long as possible at the start of a match without giving a free kick and that he would sometimes not leave the centre circle for minutes on end for a laugh. "I cannot be certain that Dean did not do these things at some point during his 553 Premier League matches, but having known him for more than a decade, I am supremely confident that neither story is true and that he has embellished both out of all recognition. "Fundamentally, Dean is a bright man with a quick wit who would be an entertaining chat-show guest or after-dinner speaker if he told the truth. He does not need to make up stories. "But for all his common sense on the field, he has shown precious little of it since retiring." 📝 @Refsplaining 🔗 nyti.ms/46aS7PQ

▪️ Did Maguire row render handball law a joke? ▪️ Can foul throws be reviewed? ▪️ Should Marmoush have had a penalty? ▪️ What’s the impact of fewer VAR interventions? Ex-Premier League referee @Refsplaining answers your questions after a weekend of controversy. 🔗 nyti.ms/4cnVLJI

The penalty awarded to Nottingham Forest at Liverpool — when goalkeeper Alisson brought down Neco Williams — highlighted an area of refereeing that is rife with inconsistency. Penalty appeals for a challenge on a player immediately after completing a shot, pass or cross are tough to judge. So where should officials draw the line for a foul? 📝 @Refsplaining 🔗 nyti.ms/4dcR3yH

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has questioned the professionalism of the fourth official in his side’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday because of the length of time it took to input the correct shirt numbers into the substitutions board. Iraola had been attempting to introduce three players shortly before a controversial penalty was awarded on 70 minutes when goalkeeper Alisson brought down Forest’s Neco Williams inside the box after a quick throw-in. He was angry at the time it had taken to process the planned changes as fourth official Tim Robinson was unable to flash up the substitutes’ numbers due to a malfunctioning electronic board. 📝 @greggevans40 and @Refsplaining 🔗 nyti.ms/3SIb6xU

▪️ Should Yoane Wissa and John McGinn have been sent off last weekend? ▪️ Do players actually know the laws? ▪️ Do referees look at social media? ▪️ Who is the best young official? Ex-Premier League referee Graham Scott (@Refsplaining) answers your questions from the Premier League’s first matchweek - and beyond. 🔗 nyti.ms/3SaMwG1