Club updatesPremier LeagueNov 11, 2026, 10:23 UTC

Panel says Liverpool should have had penalty for Timber shirt pull on Isak

BBC Sport

Article updated: Nov 12, 2026, 18:15 UTC

What happened

Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty for Jurrien Timber's shirt pull on Alexander Isak during their match against Arsenal at Anfield on 1 November, according to the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel, as reported by BBC Sport. The panel found that referee Andy Madley was wrong not to give the spot-kick and that the video assistant referee, Stuart Attwell, should have intervened.

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The incident came in the 21st minute, when Isak just failed to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola. Madley did not award a penalty, and the VAR checked the moment and cleared it, but replays showed Timber grabbing Isak's shirt. The KMI Panel voted 4:1 that a penalty should have been given on the field, and 3:2 that the VAR should have sent the referee to the pitchside monitor. Two panellists cited "subjectivity in assessing impact" as a reason not to intervene, but the majority view was that the VAR had made a "clear and obvious error". The panel voted unanimously that Timber's challenge did not merit a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Arsenal were leading 1-0 at the time through Kai Havertz, and that goal proved to be the only one of the game. After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola told BBC Match of the Day that there was "a clear grab of the shirt" and that Isak was in front of his marker and would have headed toward goal but for the pull. Iraola argued that a penalty would have been given had Isak gone to ground, and said managers should tell the player to fall, adding: "The answer is you have to dive. If you don't dive they won't call it."

The panel also identified a second VAR error on 31 October, ruling that Ipswich should have been awarded a penalty against Hull City when Nobel Mendy held back Dara O'Shea at a corner. Referee Peter Bankes did not spot the offence and VAR Neil Davies took no action, with the game goalless at the time. Ipswich took the lead shortly afterwards and the match finished 2-2.