Sportsupdated 52m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 31 August 2018Andoni Iraola Says He Will Tell Alexander Isak to Dive After Arsenal Penalty Denial
“there was minimal contact and it was a slight tug on the shirt”
“before Timber pulled the Reds forward’s shirt.”
Photo: By Phil Nash from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDL Views, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Iraola says he'll tell Isak to go down in future after denied penalty. Jurrien Timber pulled Isak; no penalty awarded as Liverpool lost 1-0.
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Iraola demands diving
Andoni Iraola said he will tell his players to go down in future after Liverpool were denied a penalty in Sunday's defeat by Arsenal at Anfield. Iraola told Match of the Day, "There is a clear grab of the shirt," and he argued that "If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty 100%."
“The answer is you have to dive, if you don't dive they won't call it.”
Referee Andy Madley did not point to the spot after Jurrien Timber pulled Alexander Isak's shirt as Isak went for a header from Bradley Barcola's cross, and Stuart Attwell on VAR duty determined there was not enough in the tug for the decision to be overturned. Iraola added that "The answer is you have to dive, if you don't dive they won't call it," and he said he would tell Isak "Yes, definitely."
Debate over VAR
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann told BBC Sport that "Timber takes a huge risk by grabbing the shirt," and he said it "could easily have been given on another day." Jamie Carragher told Match of the Day that "One of the best goal-scorers in the league is pulled back seven yards out and it stops him heading the ball" and he questioned why VAR did not intervene.
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports that it was "an unusual reaction from Isak" because "When you get pulled and you're just about to score, you normally complain like crazy." Virgil van Dijk told the BBC that "We have 50 cameras" and he said Isak did not need to complain because "In the end it wasn't given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal."
Arsenal top, Liverpool fifth
Arsenal moved to the top of the table on 24 points after their 1-0 victory at Anfield, while Liverpool remained fifth after Brighton and Chelsea, who were third and fourth respectively, both won on Saturday. Mikel Arteta said the win felt better as a manager because it had been "such a long time without this feeling," and he described the defeat against Fleetwood as looking like "the end of the world."
Arteta said, "This is a mission we didn't complete for 14 years," and he said the team had to "navigate periods where we have to suffer" while playing Liverpool again. Andoni Iraola insisted the Isak incident was "a clear penalty" and he said the decision exposed "a problem we have with the game" because "Because he doesn't dive and go to the floor."
