Iraola angry as official's board delays subs before goal

The manager, Iraola, expressed his displeasure after Liverpool's draw with Forest, urging the team to quickly address their passivity.

During the second half of the match at Anfield, with the score tied at one goal apiece, the Basque coach intended to introduce Ryan Gravenberch, Kostas Tsimikas, and Rio Ngumoha into the game.

However, despite the ball going out of play on three separate occasions, the players were forced to remain on the sidelines because the fourth official, Tim Robinson, was experiencing technical issues with the substitution board.

Adding to Liverpool's frustration, on the third occasion the ball left the field, play did not pause for the substitutions. Instead, Forest quickly took a throw-in, which subsequently led to them being awarded a penalty, allowing them to regain their lead.

Forest's wing-back, Neco Williams, bypassed the Liverpool defence and was brought down by goalkeeper Alisson as he directed a shot towards the goal.

Despite the shot missing the target, referee Samuel Barrott immediately signalled for a penalty.

Iraola informed BBC Match of the Day that he believed the contact leading to the penalty occurred after the scoring opportunity had passed and noted that the contact itself was not forceful.

However, he added that their primary complaint revolved around the substitutions, which they had to wait approximately three minutes to complete.

He explained that the official was having trouble with the board, possibly due to a malfunction, but stressed that they had intended to make the substitutions during the two or three stoppages prior to the goal being scored.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he further stated that a professional fourth official should not require three minutes for substitutions, especially since they had provided the names of the players to be changed two or three minutes beforehand.

Iraola conveyed his prior anger because they couldn't make the substitutions during the preceding stoppage and had then expected to do so before the throw-in.

He concluded by saying that someone would need to provide an explanation, as the delay felt exceptionally long.

The article, published nine hours ago, also posed the question of how Iraola could best utilise Isak, given that 'trust isn't there'.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard felt the penalty decision itself was justifiable, but he shared Iraola's annoyance regarding the delay in making substitutions.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he acknowledged that the frustration was understandable, particularly in the current technological age, where a triple substitution should not take three minutes.

However, Gerrard considered this a minor issue within a larger problem, suggesting the goal could have been prevented.

Stephen Warnock, a former Liverpool and England full-back, echoed his ex-teammate's sentiments.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live that Andoni Iraola wanted to make three changes, but the assistant referee failed to execute them properly.