Liverpool’s loss to Arsenal on Sunday has put the Premier League‘s VAR system back under scrutiny after referee Andy Madley waved away a penalty appeal for a shirt pull on Alexander Isak, a decision VAR official Stuart Attwell upheld after review. The Isak penalty VAR decision has drawn sharp criticism from Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola, who said officials effectively reward players who exaggerate contact rather than stay on their feet.
Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield behind a Kai Havertz goal, but the result took a back seat in the aftermath to a single incident midway through the first half.
The Main Development: Isak Shirt Pull Not Given
Jurrien Timber grabbed Isak’s shirt as the Liverpool forward attempted to head a Bradley Barcola cross inside the penalty area. Isak was pulled off his header but did not go to ground and made no appeal to Madley for a spot kick. Attwell reviewed the contact from the VAR booth and concluded there was not enough to overturn the on-field call.
Iraola was unequivocal about what he saw. “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,” the Liverpool manager said on Match of the Day.
“If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty 100%. It should be like this but it is what it is.”
What It Means: The Sustained Contact Threshold
Iraola’s comments point directly at the Premier League’s working standard for shirt-pull penalties: contact has to be judged as sustained holding before officials will intervene. “It’s right on the limit,” he said. “It has to be sustained holding, some will say it was sustained, some will say it wasn’t.”
That ambiguity is the crux of the issue. Isak’s decision to stay upright meant the contact, visible as it was, lacked the dramatic cue that typically prompts a VAR review to end in a reversed call. Iraola said he now plans to tell his players to go down in similar situations, arguing the system currently punishes those who try to play through contact. “The answer is you have to dive, if you don’t dive they won’t call it,” he said.
Context: A Night Of Mixed VAR Calls
The Isak incident was not the only contentious review at Anfield. Cody Gakpo went down under a challenge from Christos Tzolis in the Arsenal box, and both Madley and VAR declined to award a penalty there as well. Iraola was equally critical of that call afterward, saying, “The Gakpo one is sustained holding.”
A third review cut the other way for Liverpool. Alexis Mac Allister made contact with Noni Madueke’s head and the Arsenal winger went down, but VAR reviewed the incident and did not recommend a red card. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher called that a correct outcome, saying, “I’m delighted he didn’t get sent off. Well done to VAR because they’re recognised that Mac Allister going down is embarrassing.”
Carragher took a different view of the Isak non-call, arguing the forward’s refusal to embellish the contact should not have worked against him. “One of the best goalscorers in the league is pulled back seven yards out and it stops him heading the ball, why does he need to make a meal of it? VAR, do your job. VAR is wrong in this instance,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
Gary Neville offered a contrasting read of Isak’s reaction. “It’s actually unnatural not to make more of it. When you get pulled and you’re just about to score, you ordinarily complain like crazy. It’s a very odd reaction from Isak,” Neville said.
Team Impact: Liverpool’s Frustration
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk questioned why a player’s reaction should factor into the review at all when video evidence already exists. “We have 50 cameras. Why does he have to complain when there are so many cameras.
Everyone has seen it,” van Dijk said. “In the end it wasn’t given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal.”
The defeat leaves Liverpool to address the on-field issues without Isak’s expected strike partner Cody Gakpo sidelined alongside him in a recent injury setback, and without midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who has also missed recent fixtures with a hamstring problem.
What’s Next
No official explanation of Attwell’s reasoning has been issued by the Premier League or match officials. Iraola’s remarks suggest the debate over the sustained contact threshold will follow Liverpool into its next fixtures as the club continues to push for clarity on how shirt-pull incidents are judged by VAR.
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