Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in their 1 November Premier League clash with Arsenal after Alexander Isak was pulled back by Jurrien Timber, the league’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has confirmed. The incident, which occurred in the 21st minute at Anfield, went unpunished during the match as referee Andy Madley and VAR official Stuart Attwell decided not to intervene.
Isak was just inches away from connecting with a cross from Bradley Barcola when Timber appeared to grab his shirt. The KMI Panel’s vote was 4-1 that a penalty should have been awarded on the pitch and 3-2 that VAR should have sent the referee to the pitchside monitor to review the incident. Replays showed Timber’s shirt pull, which the majority of the panel considered a clear and obvious error not to penalise.
At the time, Arsenal were leading 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz’s goal, and that scoreline remained unchanged until full time. The split opinion among the panel reflected the difficulty of assessing the impact of the shirt pull. Two panellists argued that the “subjectivity in assessing impact meant this did not meet the high threshold for VAR intervention,” while another noted the “short-lived holding to lack clear impact on the ability of Isak to progress.” Isak, notably, stayed on his feet during the challenge.
After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola criticised the decision and the broader approach to such incidents. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Iraola said: “There is a clear grab of the shirt. Alex was just in front of him. He was going to head in front of the goal, but couldn’t because he grabbed the shirt. If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty, 100%. It should be like this, but it is what it is. Next time, the managers should tell Alex to go to the floor, otherwise they won’t call it. The answer is you have to dive. If you don’t dive they won’t call it.”
Liverpool’s frustration over the decision echoes ongoing debate about the consistency of VAR interventions in the Premier League. The KMI Panel also identified a second VAR error from the weekend prior to the Liverpool-Arsenal match. On 31 October, Ipswich Town should have been awarded a penalty against Hull City when Nobel Mendy held back Dara O’Shea during a corner kick. Referee Peter Bankes missed the offence, and VAR official Neil Davies did not recommend a review. Ipswich went on to take the lead shortly after the incident in a match that ended 2-2.
The KMI Panel’s findings fuel questions about the application of VAR’s “clear and obvious error” standard, especially when subjective elements such as shirt pulls and holding are involved. Both Liverpool and Ipswich were denied penalties that could have altered the course of their matches.
The panel’s report comes amid wider scrutiny of VAR’s impact on Premier League games this season, as fans, clubs and managers continue to debate video review’s influence on the flow and fairness of the sport.
According to BBC Sports.
