Premier League panel reveals penalty should have been awarded in Gameweek 9

A Premier League panel has revealed two VAR errors were made in Gameweek 9, including the Alexander Isak penalty incident against Arsenal. The Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty due to the striker being pulled back by Jurrien Timber. Referee Andy Madley did not award a penalty on-field, while the incident was taken to the video assistant referee Stuart Attwell before being checked and cleared. The Panel voted 4:1 that the penalty should have been awarded on the field, while a 3:2 vote decided the VAR should have intervened. However, the Panel unanimously voted that Timber’s challenge did not warrant a red card. Arsenal were leading 1-0 after an early goal from Kai Havertz , which proved to be the only goal of the game. Following 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 released a statement, which read: “The panel felt that a penalty should have been awarded for a holding action by Timber on Isak, 4:1. One panellist considered the short-lived holding to lack clear impact on the ability of Isak to progress. ” The majority also felt that VAR should have intervened to recommend an on-field review, 3:2, on the basis that it was a clear and obvious error. “Two panellists considered that the subjectivity in assessing impact meant this did not meet the high threshold for VAR intervention.” The league says match officials should penalise any holding actions that have a ‘clear material impact on play’. They have directed referees to consider multiple factors when determining an offence, including whether a player is ‘focused solely on an opponent rather than the ball, if they are holding an opponent with both arms and if the holding is sustained or impactful to an opponent or their clothing.’ On this occasion, the panel have decided that the Arsenal defender’s challenge on the Sweden international met the standards for a holding offence. Therefore, the Reds should have been awarded a penalty kick, both on-field and through VAR intervention. The Gunners went on to win 1-0 at Anfield, and currently remain nine points clear of Iraola’s side at the top of the league with 27 points. Making multiple mistakes Additionally, the Panel concluded that there was a second VAR error on 31 October in a fixture between two newly promoted sides – Hull City against Ipswich Town . Referee Thomas Kirk failed to penalise a foul by Nobel Mendy on Dara O’Shea, with Neil Davies on VAR also failing to award the Tractor Boys a deserved penalty. 4:1 voted that the officials should have given the spot-kick on field, and the VAR should have intervened. One member of the panel felt that the ‘actions of O’Shea and Florentino Luis should have been taken into account, meaning no penalty’. However, Ipswich went on to score the game’s opening goal only four minutes after the incident through Luis. The game went on to finish 2-2, with both sides currently sitting on an equal amount of 11 points.