According to Football.London and BBC Sport, the panel concluded that referee Andy Madley made a clear mistake by waving play on during the first half at Anfield, where Arsenal won 1-0.

Panel splits on the incident

The flashpoint came in the 21st minute, when Isak attempted to reach Bradley Barcola's cross and Timber grabbed his shirt. Madley gave nothing, and the VAR, Stuart Attwell, checked the passage of play and allowed it to continue. Replays showed the Arsenal right-back with a handful of fabric.

Football.A report from London states that four of the five panel members believed the on-field decision should have been a penalty. Three of the five also believed VAR ought to have stepped in and pointed Madley towards the pitch-side monitor for a second look.

The verdict was not unanimous. One panellist argued that the holding was "short-lived" and did not have a "clear impact on the ability of Isak to progress", and Football.London notes there is a counter-argument that the striker might not have reached the ball even without the contact.

Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game, and Arsenal Insider reports that Liverpool finished the afternoon with no shots on target.

Iraola calls for players to go down

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola was asked about the incident afterwards and suggested his players would be better off going to ground in similar situations. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, he said: "There is a clear grab of the shirt." He added: "If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty 100 per cent," and went on to say that "you have to dive, if you don't dive they won't call it."

Arteta's view on shirt pulls

Mikel Arteta addressed the wider question of holding in the box last week, before Arsenal's 2-1 Champions League win over Slavia Prague. He told reporters he had "a lot of clips about shirts, pulls, grabs", describing a "massive library" of examples that could be used to show what sides are dealing with, and indicated that a sudden change of approach from officials would create difficulties.

Arsenal's own grievance against Hull

Football.London adds that Arsenal also felt Trey Nyoni might have faced further sanction for an early challenge on Martin Odegaard, whose ankle appeared to be caught by the studs, with no punishment handed out.

Arsenal Insider, citing Dale Johnson of BBC Sport, points to a comparable moment in Saturday's 1-0 win over Hull City at the Emirates. With the game goalless, Nobel Mendy pulled Havertz's shirt inside the area. Although VAR examined the incident, no penalty was awarded on the grounds that Havertz was judged offside; Johnson contended that this decision was wrong in itself, as the forward had not committed an offside offence by trying to play the ball or contest it.

The panel has not yet formally reviewed that incident, per the same report. Arsenal went on to take the points anyway, Odegaard following up a rebounded shot from Noni Madueke to score the winner.

After the international break, Arsenal resume play by visiting St James' Park to take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday 21 November.

Photo: Photo2023 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0, resized.