Keith Stroud may be new to the premiership but he had to dig himself out of a tricky situation when he made the mistake of prematurely awarding a penalty to Wigan against Reading. After a delicious run, Jason Koumas was tripped as he entered the Reading penalty area. Stroud, 10 yards away from the incident, immediately pointed at the penalty spot but as he approached the place where the foul took place, obviously recognised that contact was made between the two players just inches outside the penalty area.
I believe Stroud realised he'd made an error and - good on him -brought himself a bit of time by running over to consult with his assistant. The assistant may have advised him but I suspect Stroud realised he needed to change his decision to a free kick rather than a penalty. He's pefectly within his rights to do this, by the way. A referee can change his mind at any stage up until the restart of play, which in this case was the penalty or free kick. After play restarts, it's too late and there's no going back.
If I'm 10 yards away and a player is fouled very close to the edge of the box, I've developed a system of blowing immediately, staring hard at the blades of grass where the contact took place and running towards it. Within a couple of seconds, the ref can see where contact was made and give a decision accordingly. Waiting for a couple of seconds before indicating the decision is no great harm. You've already stopped play with your whistle anyway.
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