Liverpool Should Have Had Penalty Vs Arsenal – Panel

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has determined that Liverpool were wrongly denied a penalty during their November 1 clash against Arsenal at Anfield, concluding that VAR should have intervened in the controversial incident.

According to BBC Sport, the panel voted 4-1 that referee Andy Madley made a clear and obvious error by not awarding a spot-kick when Alexander Isak was pulled back by Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber in the 21st minute. A separate 3-2 majority agreed that VAR official Stuart Attwell should have recommended an on-field review.

The incident occurred as Isak attempted to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola, with Timber grabbing the striker’s shirt and preventing him from connecting with the ball. Madley allowed play to continue, and Attwell opted against sending the referee to the pitchside monitor.

While the panel’s majority view held that the non-award constituted a clear error, two members argued that the subjective nature of judging the shirt pull’s impact justified VAR’s decision not to intervene.

The panel was unanimous, however, that Timber’s challenge did not merit a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Arsenal, who were leading 1-0 through Kai Havertz at the time of the incident, went on to secure all three points, with the goal proving decisive in Mikel Arteta’s side’s victory.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola criticised the decision after the match, arguing that Isak was prevented from making contact with the cross due to Timber’s shirt pull. He suggested that players are increasingly being forced to go to ground to convince referees to award penalties.

In a separate ruling, the KMI Panel identified another VAR error in the Championship fixture between Ipswich Town and Hull City on October 31.

The panel found that Ipswich should have been awarded a penalty when Nobel Mendy held back Dara O’Shea during a corner-kick situation.

Referee Peter Bankes failed to spot the offence, and VAR Neil Davies took no action. The incident occurred while the match was goalless; Ipswich scored shortly afterwards, but Hull fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.