Liverpool Denied Penalty in Match Against Arsenal

Liverpool should have received a penalty in their Premier League match against Arsenal. This was the conclusion of the league’s Key Match Incidents Panel, as reported by BBC Sport on Wednesday.

The incident took place in the 21st minute at Anfield on November 1. Alexander Isak was trying to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola when Jurrien Timber pulled his shirt, stopping him from getting to the ball.

Referee Andy Madley let the game go on. Video assistant referee Stuart Attwell looked at the incident but did not suggest an on-field review.

The KMI Panel voted 4-1 that Liverpool should have been given a penalty. A different vote with a 3-2 majority said VAR should have gotten involved and told Madley to check the pitchside monitor. The panel agreed that not giving a penalty was a clear mistake.

Two panel members noted that deciding how serious the shirt pull was could be subjective. They thought this was a reason for VAR not getting involved.

The panel agreed unanimously that Timber’s action did not deserve a red card for stopping an obvious goal chance. At that moment, Arsenal was leading 1-0 thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz. This goal helped Mikel Arteta’s team take all three points.

After the game, Liverpool's manager Andoni Iraola criticized the decision. He said Isak could not connect with the cross because Timber was pulling his shirt. Iraola pointed out that players are starting to go down more often to convince referees to give penalties.

The KMI Panel also found another VAR error in a Championship match between Ipswich Town and Hull City on October 31. They said Ipswich should have been given a penalty after Nobel Mendy held back Dara O’Shea during a corner kick.

Referee Peter Bankes did not see the foul, and VAR Neil Davies did not take any action. This incident happened when the score was still 0-0. Ipswich scored soon after, but Hull came back to finish the match in a 2-2 draw.