Premier League Panel rules Liverpool Should’ve got penalty vs Arsenal

An independent Premier League Panel has concluded that two VAR mistakes occurred in Gameweek 9, one involving Alexander Isak’s denied penalty against Arsenal, meaning Liverpool were denied a chance to level the match and that the oversight could have altered the final result.

The Key Match Incidents Panel ruled that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty because the striker was pulled back by Jurrien Timber, reported.

Referee Andy Madley did not award the penalty on the field, and the incident was referred to video assistant referee Stuart Attwell, who subsequently cleared it.

Panel members voted 4 to 1 that the penalty ought to have been given on the pitch, while a 3 to 2 majority believed VAR should have intervened.

Nevertheless, the panel unanimously agreed that Timber’s challenge did not merit a red card.

Match result and manager reaction

Arsenal led 1‑0 after an early Kai Havertz goal, which remained the only score of the game.

After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni 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 per cent. 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.”

The Premier League issued a statement saying the panel felt a penalty should have been awarded for Timber’s holding of Isak, with a 4‑1 vote, although one panellist argued the brief hold lacked clear impact on Isak’s progress.

A 3‑2 majority also believed VAR should have intervened to recommend an on‑field review, describing the situation as a clear and obvious error.

Two panellists, however, considered the subjectivity of assessing impact meant it did not meet the high threshold required for VAR action.

The league clarified that officials must penalise any holding action that has a clear material impact on play.

It further instructed referees to consider whether a player is focused solely on an opponent rather than the ball, uses both arms to hold, and whether the hold is sustained or affects the opponent’s clothing.

In this case, the panel concluded that the Arsenal defender’s challenge on the Sweden international satisfied the criteria for a holding offence.

Consequently, Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty kick both on‑field and via VAR.