Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in the 0-1 defeat to Arsenal at „Anfield“ on November 1. That is the conclusion reached by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel following the incident between Alexander Isak and Jurriën Timber.
The Swedish forward attempted to head the ball from a cross by Bradley Barcola, but the Arsenal defender pulled him by the shirt inside the penalty area. Isak stayed on his feet, and referee Andy Madley did not point to the spot. The incident was reviewed by VAR official Stuart Attwell, who did not recommend an on-field review.
The panel voted 4-1 that a penalty should have been awarded on the field. The vote on VAR intervention was 3-2. According to the majority assessment, Timber’s holding crossed the threshold for an offence because it affected Isak’s ability to continue towards the ball. One member felt that the holding was too brief, while two considered the impact insufficiently clear to warrant intervention by the video assistant referee.
After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola criticised the decision. „There is a clear pull of the shirt. Alex was right in front of him. He was going to head the ball towards goal, but he couldn’t because he was being held,“ he told BBC Match of the Day.
Iraola added that, in his view, players have to go to ground in such situations for a foul to be given. He made the comment with the score at 0-1, after Kai Havertz had given Arsenal the lead with the only goal of the match.
The panel’s decision does not change the final result of the match, but confirms that Liverpool were disadvantaged at a key moment in the game.