Timber should have given away penalty vs Liverpool, panel rules
Jurrien Timber got away with one. An independent panel has ruled that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty for Timber's shirt pull on Alexander Isak during Arsenal's 1-0 win at Anfield on November 1, overturning the decisions made by referee Andy Madley and VAR Stuart Attwell on the day.
The Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel, which reviews refereeing decisions across every Premier League match, voted 4:1 that Madley should have pointed to the spot after Timber pulled back Isak as he attempted to head Bradley Barcola's cross in the 21st minute. The panel also voted 3:2 that Attwell should have sent Madley to the pitchside monitor on the grounds that it was a clear and obvious error, according to Sky Sports.
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Arsenal led 1-0 through Kai Havertz's goal at the time of the incident, and that scoreline held to hand Mikel Arteta's side victory at Anfield. Isak stayed on his feet throughout the challenge rather than going to ground, which appears to have influenced the on field call.
Panel split on severity
The panel's written assessment showed a divide in opinion. One panellist believed the holding was too short lived to have a clear impact on Isak's ability to progress, while two others argued that the subjectivity involved in judging that impact meant the incident did not meet the high threshold required for VAR intervention.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola was unequivocal in his post-match assessment, saying: “The Isak one is a clear penalty. We can all see that he holds the t-shirt. The ball just goes one centimetre in front of Alex. Alex is going to hit the ball in front of the goal.” Asked whether the fact that pundits were debating whether Isak should have gone down was itself telling, Iraola replied: “The fact that you are even asking me that shows he should have gone to the floor. If he does, they call the penalty 100 per cent.” He confirmed he would be telling his forward to go down in future: “Yes, definitely.”
Virgil van Dijk also weighed in, saying: “I've seen it back and I've seen it given as well on other occasions. Today it wasn't meant to be... In the end, it wasn't given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal.”
Mikel Arteta offered no response when asked about the incident by Sky Sports, saying he had not watched it back.
Mac Allister incident also reviewed
The same match also saw the KMI panel examine a clash between Alexis Mac Allister and Noni Madueke, where the pair's heads made contact and Mac Allister went down holding his face. VAR review did not result in a red card for Madueke, with the panel unanimously agreeing the contact was negligible and that Mac Allister's reaction was clearly exaggerated.
So far this season, 196 Key Match Incidents have been examined by the panel, with the correct on field decision reached in 86 per cent of cases, a figure that rises to 97 per cent once VAR intervention is factored in. The ruling does not change the result at Anfield, with Arsenal's win standing regardless of the panel's verdict.
