Premier League Shirt-Pulling Controversy: Should Isak Have Won a Penalty?

Just as we thought we would have a quiet weekend in the Premier League with no VAR controversy. We were wrong.

Though Arsenal picked up their first win against Liverpool at Anfield since 2012, with a 1-0 win thanks to Kai Havertz. It wasn’t without any controversy.

How on earth did Alexander Isak not receive a penalty when Jurriën Timber quite clearly grabbed hold of his shirt?

Isak didn’t go down, but his movement towards the ball was impeded by the Dutch defender. If this happens anywhere else on the pitch, it’s a free-kick, and probably a yellow card. Why are the rules different for spot kicks?

Andoni Iraola has every right to be fuming about this.

“There is a clear grab of the shirt,” “Alex [Isak] was just in front of him. He was going to head in front of the goal but couldn’t because he grabbed the shirt. 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.” He told BBC Sport.

Ok, let’s imagine you have two kids. You tell that whoever’s room is the tidiest gets a special treat, and one of the kids deliberately spills something on the other kid’s carpet. Would you blame the kid who uses that room?

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This is where Howard Webb and PGMOL needs to be held accountable for the way VAR’s system is being run.

If Timber and Isak both have their motives set on the ball, then you can say that it is just a coming together. But you can quite clearly see that Timber’s target is Isak, not the ball.

What has probably saved Timber, is that he doesn’t grab Isak’s shirt for a longer period, which would have possibly forced him to go down.

The fact that Gunners’ fans are saying that they got away with it, means that it is more damning.

Football is a contact sport, but what the PGMOL aren’t doing, is giving clarity on the rules, and what is redeemed as clear and obvious.

If you see someone walking away from somebody, and the other person stops them by grabbing their arm or shirt and pulls them back, isn’t that classed as violent conduct?

It’s time for Webb and the PGMOL to tighten up and have some clarity on the way they set the standards of officiating in football matches.

Shirt pulling is a regular feature in football; however, we need to be stricter on the way we carry out the rules.

If a player is in no position to win the ball of another player and deliberately impedes him by grabbing him. It a foul no matter where it is on the pitch.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Do you know what is deemed as shirt pulling?

Let us know on World in Sport