1) Because he was a good ref in the past, and when he asked we considered it would be fine for him to get a new trial.
2) That's never been necessary at the BT. Ref applications are handled on a case by case basis at all times.
3) As long as refs aren't stepping on each other's toes trying to ref the same battles, and they all do a good job, I see no reason to deny anyone a chance. We'll only reject a ref if said person has failed the trial, had a history of reffing in a wrong way or if the active refs are too many for the amount of challenges we get.