KMI panel: Timber shirt pull on Isak at Anfield should have been penalty

The Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty after Alexander Isak was pulled back by Jurrien Timber at Anfield on 1 November during the Premier League match with Arsenal. Isak just failed to get his head on a cross by Bradley Barcola in the 21st minute.

Referee Andy Madley did not award a penalty and video assistant referee Stuart Attwell checked the incident and cleared it, but replays showed Timber grabbed Isak's shirt. The KMI Panel voted 4:1 that the penalty should have been awarded on the field and 3:2 that the VAR should have intervened and sent the referee to the pitchside monitor. Arsenal led 1-0 through Kai Havertz at the time, which proved to be the only goal of the game, and Isak has scored seven goals in nine Premier League games for Liverpool this season.

Two panellists cited the "subjectivity in assessing impact" as their reason for not intervening, while the majority described the situation as a "clear and obvious error" by the VAR. The KMI Panel also voted unanimously that Timber's challenge did not justify a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after the match, saying: "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%. 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 KMI Panel also identified a separate 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; the game was 0-0 at the time, Ipswich took the lead shortly afterwards and it finished 2-2.

The BBC published the panel's findings on 11 November 2026.