Photo via Evening Standard

Andoni Iraola reacts to 'clear' Liverpool penalty in Arsenal defeat: 'I don’t understand'

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Deniran-Alleyne, T. (2026, November 1). Andoni Iraola reacts to 'clear' Liverpool penalty in Arsenal defeat: 'I don’t understand'. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/iraola-liverpool-fc-isak-penalty-arsenal-b1303173.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-01 · by Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Quick Summary

Andoni Iraola, an analyst for Sky Sports, criticized a decision by referee Andy Madley and VAR during Liverpool’s match against Arsenal at Anfield, where a penalty was not awarded to Liverpool despite contact with their striker. Iraola argued that the incident clearly warranted a penalty but questioned why it wasn’t called when the player did not go to the ground. He also suggested that his team should make more of such incidents in future matches.
Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In a recent Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool faced Arsenal in a 1-0 loss where Alexander Isak appeared to have his shirt pulled by Jurrien Timber, preventing him from heading the ball. Despite clear replays showing contact, no penalty was awarded. Referee Andy Madley and VAR agreed with the on-field decision. Post-match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola expressed frustration, stating that Isak should have gone down to secure a penalty. Iraola went as far as saying he would instruct his players to dive in future matches if they want penalties called.

Written for “Iraola Encourages Diving” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 121807 · logged 2026-11-01

Story

📰 Iraola Encourages Diving
Sports · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 39 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss a penalty decision during the Arsenal vs Liverpool match on the same day and mention similar incidents, Article B focuses on Iraola's reaction and future instructions to his players regarding diving, which is not covered in Article A.”
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A provides player ratings and analysis of a match between Liverpool and Arsenal, while Article B focuses on referee decisions regarding potential penalties in the same match. Although both articles discuss the same game, they describe different aspects of it.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles refer to different incidents within the same match: one about Iraola reacting to denied penalties, and another suggesting he will advise Isak on diving for penalties.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different incidents within the same match; one focuses on Madueke's potential violent conduct and the other on a controversial penalty decision.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the game; Article A focuses on Andoni Iraola's reaction to a non-penalty decision, while Article B centers on Jamie Carragher criticizing a player for an incident later in the match.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8077 article(s) · 68 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 68 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
208 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Carragher may have been taking a swipe at Graeme Souness as the former Liverpool player and manager has been extremely critical of Rice as a midfielder this season.
🔮 Speaking after the game, Iraola said he could understand why the apparent foul on the Dutchman was not given but insisted Timber should have been penalised for stopping Isak from getting a shot on target.
🔮 When he pulled him, it was just about enough as he would need to go down."
🔮 A statement via the Premier League website reads: “Despite being sent off for two bookable offences in Chelsea's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and receiving an automatic one-match suspension, Cole Palmer will not miss any Premier League matches.
🔮 The 16-year-old sensation will now serve a three-match suspension after Arsenal’s appeal against his red card was dismissed by the Football Association (FA) on Thursday, meaning he will definitely not play any part against Liverpool as Arteta faces problems out wide.
🔮 However, Brighton’s hopes of avenging their Carabao Cup exit have been boosted after Hurzeler revealed that the trio are expected to be available for selection at the Etihad.
🔮 A booking at Anfield would move Arteta onto three yellow cards - which for managers guarantees a one-match suspension - so the Gunners boss would have to serve a touchline ban six days later at home to Hull in the final game before the November international break.
🔮 Fleetwood’s reward for beating Premier League champions Arsenal on Tuesday night is another home tie, though they will have to wait until Thursday to find out their opponents as Everton face Newcastle in the final fourth round clash.
🔮 Following the conclusion of the fourth-round ties, 16 teams will have become just eight as they discover who they will face off against in December to reach the two-legged semi-finals.
🔮 As Arsenal have key injuries in wide areas and now Dowman’s suspension has been added to the mix, supporters will be desperate for a positive update on Madueke before the Liverpool game.
Also by Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 208 articles by Tashan Deniran-Alleyne →

Topics

Dutchman Liverpool Premier League Sky Sports Timber

Subjects

Liverpool GPE · 5× Iraola PERSON · 4× Alex PERSON · 3× Isak PERSON · 3× Timber ORG · 3× Sky Sports ORG · 2× Andy Madley PERSON · 1× Gakpo PERSON · 1× Kai Havertz’s PERSON · 1× Premier League ORG · 1×

Narrative

Sunday’s huge Premier League showdown at Anfield was settled by Kai Havertz’s solitary goal, but the general consensus - at least in the Sky Sports studio - was that Liverpool should have awarded a chance to equalise.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-01
🔮 Speaking after the game, Iraola said he could understand why the apparent foul on the Dutchman was not given but insisted Timber should have been penalised for stopping Isak from getting a shot on target.

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

Sunday’s huge Premier League showdown at Anfield was settled by Kai Havertz’s solitary goal, but the general consensus - at least in the Sky Sports studio - was that Liverpool should have awarded a chance to equalise. asserted
Liverpool → settle → chance
While replays showed contact was enough to stop the in-form Liverpool striker from connecting with the cross, referee Andy Madley opted to not point to the spot and VAR agreed with the on-field decision. asserted
VAR → show → decision
This came shortly after Liverpool had another penalty appeal turned down when Cody Gakpo went to ground under a challenge from Christos Tzolis. asserted
Gakpo → come → Tzolis
Speaking after the game, Iraola said he could understand why the apparent foul on the Dutchman was not given but insisted Timber should have been penalised for stopping Isak from getting a shot on target. uncertain
Timber → speak → target
“The Alex one is a clear penalty,” Iraola told Sky Sports. asserted
Iraola → tell → Sports
“We can all see that [Timber] holds the t-shirt and the ball just goes one centimetre in front of Alex. asserted
ball → see → Alex
“Alex is going to hit the ball in front of the goal. asserted
Alex → go → goal
“So because he does not go to the floor, you are not going to call the penalty? asserted
you → go → penalty
I don’t understand it.” asserted
I → understand → it
Iraola was then asked if Isak should have made more of the pull as the Liverpool striker, instead of appealing for the decision, appeared to have words with Timber as the pair jogged alongside each other. asserted
pair → ask → other
"The fact that you are even asking me that he should have gone to the floor, that's the thing,” the Spaniard added. asserted
Spaniard → ask → floor
“If he goes to the floor, they call the penalty for me. asserted
they → go → me
They call the penalty 100%.” asserted
They → call → penalty
Iraola finished up by saying he will “definitely” tell Isak to make more of any contact inside the box in the future. asserted
he → finish → future
Read More So because he does not go to the floor, you are not going to call the penalty? asserted
you → read → penalty
I don’t understand it. asserted
I → understand → it
Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile said he could not believe the incident was not spotted even with so many cameras inside the stadium. uncertain
incident → say → stadium
"I've seen it back, yes. asserted
it → see → ?
And I've seen it given as well on other occasions. asserted
it → see → occasions
Today it wasn't meant to be,” Van Dijk said. asserted
Dijk → mean → ?
"The VAR doesn't notice it? asserted
VAR → notice → it
Why does he have to complain when there are so many cameras? asserted
he → have → ?
"It is spotted because everyone's seen it. asserted
everyone → spot → it
In the end, it wasn't given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal." asserted
we → give → Arsenal
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support