Andoni Iraola stated that he will instruct his players to go down in future after Liverpool were denied a penalty during their defeat by Arsenal.
Shirt Pull Incident
With Liverpool trailing 1-0 following Kai Havertz’s opening goal, Alexander Isak had his shirt pulled by Jurrien Timber in the first half while trying to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola. However, the striker stayed on his feet, and referee Andy Madley did not award a penalty. Stuart Attwell, the video assistant referee (VAR), concluded there was not enough contact to overturn the decision, but Iraola strongly disagreed with the outcome.
Speaking to Match of the Day, the manager pointed out that there was a clear grab of the shirt preventing Isak from heading the ball in front of the goal. He added that if the player had gone to the floor, the penalty would have been called 100% of the time, noting that the answer going forward is that players have to dive.
Isak spoke briefly to Timber after the incident but did not appeal to the referee because he stayed on his feet. Speaking to Sky Sports, Iraola confirmed that he would definitely tell Isak to go to the floor in future situations.
Referees and Player Honesty
Elaborating further during his news conference with BBC Sport, Iraola admitted it is a shame to ask players to be smarter, but confirmed they must now go down because referees will not award penalties otherwise. He noted that referees often complain about players going down, but argued that officials leave players no choice. He also praised Isak as an honest player who tried to stay on his feet for the ball.
Sources indicate the play continued because officials judged the contact to be minimal and a slight tug rather than a sustained holding offense. Iraola conceded that any potential apology from Pro Ref, the Premier League’s refereeing body, would not change the result.
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann told BBC Sport that Timber took a huge risk with the shirt pull, noting it could easily have been given on another day and that it sat right on the limit of sustained holding. Liverpool experienced a second penalty appeal waved away later in the match when Cody Gakpo went down under pressure from Christos Tzolis.
Pivotal Moment and Reactions
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told Match of the Day that Arsenal were lucky and the decision arrived at a pivotal moment. He sympathized with the referee over the speed of the incident, suggesting VAR should have intervened and that Isak should have made more of it.
Gary Neville agreed during Sky commentary, describing Isak’s reaction as unnatural for a centre-forward who missed out on a clear scoring chance. When asked about Isak’s lack of complaints, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk questioned why a player needs to appeal when numerous cameras capture everything, adding that the team ultimately lost the game.
