According to a report by Punch Newspaper on Wednesday November 11, 2026, Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in their Premier League match against Arsenal after Alexander Isak was pulled back by Jurrien Timber, the league’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has ruled.

The incident took place in the 21st minute of the match at Anfield on November 1. Isak attempted to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola but was unable to connect after Timber grabbed his shirt.

Referee Andy Madley allowed play to continue. Video assistant referee Stuart Attwell reviewed the incident but did not recommend that Madley review his decision on the pitchside monitor.

The KMI Panel subsequently concluded that the officials had made an error. A 4-1 majority determined that Liverpool should have received a penalty, while a separate 3-2 majority agreed that VAR should have intervened and sent Madley to the monitor.

The panel’s majority view was that the decision not to award a spot-kick was a clear and obvious error. Its findings mean the incident was incorrectly assessed both on the field and in the VAR review.

The decision was a significant retrospective finding in a match Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield. The ruling does not change the result, but it confirms that Liverpool were denied the opportunity to take a penalty during the game.

After the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola criticized the decision and suggested that players may be disadvantaged when they try to stay on their feet.

He said: If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty 100 per cent. The answer is you have to dive.

The panel’s assessment focused on the shirt pull and whether it prevented Isak from playing the ball.

Its majority considered the contact sufficient to warrant a penalty and believed the VAR team should have recommended an on-field review.

The incident has again raised questions about the threshold VAR officials use when deciding whether to intervene.

Under the review process, VAR is expected to step in when an on-field decision is considered a clear and obvious error. In this case, most panel members concluded that the threshold had been met.

Liverpool’s appeal for a penalty was not granted during the match, and Madley’s decision stood at the time.

The KMI Panel’s later review provides an official assessment of the incident but cannot award the penalty after the final whistle.