RAGING REDS! Liverpool boss Iraola fumes at officials and Alisson SMASHES substitution board after controversy in Forest draw

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has questioned the professionalism of the fourth official after a controversial incident in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Victor Munoz's late strike earned a point for Liverpool in Saturday's early kick-off at Anfield after a chaotic game. Iraola was honest about his side's poor performance in the first half, but also raged at the officials, who he felt may have inadvertently benefited Forest.

The Liverpool boss had been trying to make a triple substitution in the build-up to Forest's second goal, which came via Morgan Gibbs-White from the penalty spot after Alisson fouled Neco Williams in the box. But fourth official Tim Robinson didn't have the substitution boards ready in time, meaning Forest were able to take a quick throw-in and catch Liverpool off guard.

Alisson dived in at Williams' feet, fouling the Forest wingback and Gibbs-White scored the spot-kick to make it 2-1. Iraola was seen shouting at Robinson while he attempted to get the numbers on the boards and the Spaniard hasn't cooled down in his post-match interview.

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"I will analyse the penalty, yes, but a professional fourth official cannot take three minutes for the subs," Iraola told TNT Sports.

"We gave the subs two or three minutes before. I was angry because in the previous stop we couldn’t make it. And before the throw-in I said 'let’s do it now', but I don’t know how to explain it but it has taken ages to prepare two boards."

Alisson was furious with the penalty decision and was booked for his protestations to referee Sam Barrott. The veteran goalkeeper was still seething at full-time, too, and was seen kicking one of the substitution boards, smashing a hole in it.

Former Premier League referee Graham Scott wrote on X: "The subs boards are not fit for purpose. Each number has to be entered manually, and they only count up one at a time. Entering number 38 on its own could take several seconds and there are six numbers to plug in here.

"Also, the sponsors’ advertising makes them heavy and unwieldy, which is why the 4th has them on the ground. In UEFA comps the clubs have to enter the numbers themselves, which means they can get the subs done quicker. The PL only did this during Covid.

"The 4th official would have had to check and double check the names and numbers of all six players involved in the substitutions against the official team sheet in case the club has made an error, which happens frequently enough to make such checks necessary."

The draw was Liverpool's second in succession to start the 2026/27 campaign following the 2-2 draw against Newcastle last weekend. Dan Ndoye put Forest ahead after Liverpool failed to deal with a long ball.

Alexander Isak equalised with a tap-in from Cody Gakpo's cross before the penalty put the away side ahead once more. Munoz then earned Liverpool a point in the 82nd minute with a powerful shot off the underside of the crossbar.

"It’s not the result we want. I think two very different halves," Iraola said. "I think we were poor in the first half, even being poor, we were unlucky in terms of their goal.

"We were very poor in the first half. We were much better in the second half. The intensity was different - if you are going to lose, you have to lose like in the second half. A lot more intense, more threatening, happy with the second half, but it was late in the game."

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