Nazira 'Naz' Yusuf is a freelance football journalist who writes about Liverpool for Read Liverpool and Crystal Palace for Read Crystal Palace. She also reports on Liverpool's men's and women's teams for Hayters TV, and has written for Rush the Kop and Live4Liverpool.
When you walk away from Anfield after a 1-0 defeat to a title rival, the margins always feel razor-thin. But when a match turns on a decision so blatantly missed by the technology designed to catch it, the frustration shifts from tactical critique to outright disbelief.
Liverpool fell behind early through Kai Havertz on Sunday afternoon, but Andoni Iraola’s side responded with purpose,pinning the visitors back and creating several promising opportunities throughout the game.
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Yet, the moment that will dominate the post-match debrief for weeks occurred when a dangerous cross was whipped into the heart of the Arsenal penalty area, targeted straight for Alexander Isak.
The Sweden striker threw himself towards the ball but narrowly failed to make contact. Replays, however, quickly revealed why: Isak was subjected to a sustained shirt-pull as he attempted to reach the delivery, an intervention that fundamentally prevented him from getting a decisive touch.
Liverpool’s bench appealed furiously for a penalty, with head coach Iraola convinced that the referee should have awarded a spot-kick. But Isak’s honesty choosing to stay on his feet to try to score rather than diving to the turf ultimately appeared to count against the hosts.
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Watching from the stands at L4, former Reds captain Steven Gerrard could not hide his anger at how the incident was handled by the Video Assistant Referee.
Gerrard Pulls No Punches on Stuart Attwell
Speaking on The Overlap Daily, Gerrard broke down the incident from a supporter’s and player’s perspective, pointing the finger directly at VAR official Stuart Attwell:
“You could definitely see that there was something there. From where I was sitting, it wasn’t clear, and I wasn’t sitting there thinking to myself, well, that’s a pen, it’s a pen, but the crowd reaction, you’re going off it wondering, is there something there?”
“And the speed of the cross and how it happened and the reaction, you can understand how a referee could possibly miss that or think there’s not much in there. But for someone to sit in, I don’t know what they sit in at the moment, with all these screens around, how you miss that in the VAR seat is an absolute embarrassment.”
Gerrard continued, emphasising that technological setups leave zero room for error in key moments:
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“Who was it in VAR? There’s no excuse for it, is there, really? I’d be saying the same if this was anyone. To hold someone’s shirt for that long and have three, four opportunities to see that and slow it down, and the amount of cameras that are in stadiums at the moment, I think it’s poor from Stuart Attwell.”
One of Gerrard’s most poignant observations centered on the impossible situation players face when refereeing standards fail to reward integrity:
“You can’t win in that situation because you’re trying to make it more dramatic to try and convince the referee and then people say you’re cheating. In this day and age, with the amount of cameras and technology we’ve got, you shouldn’t have to make the most of anything.”
“Especially if someone is sitting there and watching it, he should know that was a clear pull for the length of time to stop you getting on the end of a cross, which was a goal-scoring opportunity. So it’s a penalty, and I think Mikel Arteta said after the game they rode the luck at times and I think he’s alluding to that incident.”
Andoni Iraola and Virgil van Dijk were both vocal after the final whistle, expressing deep frustration with VAR’s refusal to grant Liverpool what felt like a clear-cut opportunity to level the match.
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Penalised for Playing the Game Right
For those of us watching in the stands and at home, Gerrard’s reaction encapsulates precisely how Liverpool fans feel.
We are constantly told that VAR exists to correct “clear and obvious errors.” Yet when an attacker has his shirt pulled back for a sustained period inside the six-yard box—preventing a clear goalscoring chance the system fails simply because the player had the honesty to stay upright. Had Isak dramatically collapsed, a penalty almost certainly would have been given. What message does that send to players?
Liverpool will rightly feel hard done by a decision that could prove immensely costly in the early shaping of the Premier League table. However, with mid-week European duties looming and a crucial run of fixtures before the November international break, Iraola must channel this sense of injustice into performance on the pitch.
Nazira 'Naz' Yusuf is a freelance football journalist who writes about Liverpool for Read Liverpool and Crystal Palace for Read Crystal Palace. She also reports on Liverpool's men's and women's teams for Hayters TV, and has written for Rush the Kop and Live4Liverpool.
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