Premier League admits Arsenal VAR error against Liverpool

The Premier League has acknowledged that Liverpool were wrongly denied a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Kai Havertz’s first-half strike proved to be the winner as Mikel Arteta’s side ground out their first win at Anfield since 2012.

However, Liverpool were not awarded a penalty just minutes after Havertz’s strike when Alexander Isak was pulled back by Jurrien Timber as he tried to head Bradley Barcola’s cross.

Referee Andy Madley did not award a penalty before it was checked and cleared by the video assistant referee, Stuart Attwell.

After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said there was a ‘clear grab’ of Isak’s shirt and said he might have to start telling his players to go down to try and win a penalty.

A review by the Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel, which provides an independent assessment of major decisions in every Premier League match, has now vindicated Iraola and suggested that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty for the incident.

The KMI Panel voted 4:1 that the penalty should have been awarded by the on-field referee, while three of the five members of the panel voted that VAR should have intervened and sent the referee to the pitchside monitor ‘on the basis that it was a clear and obvious error’.

‘In the Premier League, there is a strong mandate for the on-field officials and VAR to recognise and penalise holding actions that are sustained and have a clear material impact on play, as well as an increased emphasis on non-footballing holding actions that have no place on the football pitch,’ the panel added.

‘Referees will consider a number of factors when determining an offence, including whether a player is focused solely on an opponent rather than the ball, whether they make any attempt to play or challenge for 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.

‘In this instance the panel deemed that Timber’s challenge on Isak met the threshold for a holding offence and should have resulted in a penalty kick, both on-field and through VAR intervention.’

Liverpool bounced back from their defeat to Arsenal with a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend.

The Reds sit fourth in the table and nine points off league leaders Arsenal.

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