Premier League: Iraola advises players to go down to win penalties
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch and MyJoyOnline
Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola says his players should go down after contact in the penalty area to win a penalty, following a rejected appeal in the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal. He says Alexander Isak should have gone to ground after his shirt was pulled, according to Punch and MyJoyOnline, which also report the criticism and reactions to the decision.
MyJoyOnline reports that Iraola told “Match of the Day” Alexander Isak would have won a penalty if he had gone down, adding that coaches should now tell their players to go to ground in this kind of situation. He nevertheless said Isak had shown honesty by trying to play the ball without exaggerating the contact.
The decision was based, according to MyJoyOnline, on the assessment that the shirt pull was slight and not sustained, whereas a punishable foul would have required a continuous hold. Former assistant referee Darren Cann said Jurrien Timber had taken a significant risk and that a penalty could have been given, while Danny Murphy judged that Arsenal had benefited from the decision. Gary Neville described Isak’s lack of protest as surprising, and Virgil van Dijk replied that the many cameras had shown the incident.
MyJoyOnline adds that Liverpool also had another penalty appeal rejected after Cody Gakpo went down under pressure from Christos Tzolis. The team had no shots on target against Arsenal. Iraola also said that an apology from Pro Ref, the Premier League’s refereeing body, would not change the situation.
