The Spanish coach Andoni Iraola stated that he might have to start instructing his players to "simulate" (to fall deliberately) in order to win penalties, after Swedish striker Alexander Isak was denied a penalty despite being tugged by his shirt, as he chose to stay on his feet in the match his team lost to Arsenal 1-0.
The "Gunners" achieved their first win at Anfield in 14 years, climbing to the top of the Premier League thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz.
Frustration spread among Liverpool's ranks due to two refereeing decisions against the team regarding penalty kicks; the first when Cody Gakpo fell after a challenge from Christos Tsoulis, and the second when Jurien Timber tugged Isak inside the penalty area while the latter was attempting to head the ball.
Isak remained on his feet despite the tug, and he didn't even seem to call for a penalty.
However, in statements made after the match, Iraola - Liverpool's coach - told the BBC: "There was a clear tug on the shirt. Alex was directly in front of it and was about to reach the ball with his head in front of the goal, but he couldn't do so because of the tug on his shirt. I don't understand why the foul was not called; maybe because the player didn't fall to the ground".
The Spanish coach added: "I don't think Gakpo's incident was a penalty, but in Alex's case, the player was about to play the ball with his head in front of the goalkeeper, and the opponent pulled his shirt. I don't understand why a penalty wasn't awarded".
Iraola continued: "You have to dive; if you don't dive, they won't call the foul".
Iraola added in comments to Sky Sports about Isak: "That's the problem we face in the game; he doesn't resort to simulation or fall to the ground. And the fact that you ask me if he should fall... if he had fallen to the ground, the referee would have given a penalty 100%".
The Spanish coach continued: "The coach now has to tell Alex: 'Next time you have to fall to the ground, otherwise they won’t call the foul'".
For his part, Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's captain, supported his coach's statements, indicating that he sees Isak's challenge as "a clear penalty".
Van Dijk said: "I watched the incident again, and I saw cases where penalties were given. But it seems luck was not on our side today".
He added: "We have 50 cameras. Why does he [Isak] have to complain with this many cameras? Everyone saw what happened. In the end, the decision wasn't made, and unfortunately, we lost the match; so, congratulations to Arsenal".
The hosts were the closer to scoring when Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar, but they only managed to create a few clear scoring opportunities throughout the match.
Iraola said: "We put them under pressure, forced them back into their penalty area, and trapped them there, but we lacked the clarity needed to handle those situations better".
He added: "I decided to finish the match with Rio [Ngomuoha] and Victor [Munoz], and I even brought on Dom [Szoboszlai], to see if we could score with a shot from outside the box, or in various ways. We had many set pieces, but we failed to score from them, and they delivered a very good defensive performance in the second half."