Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola expressed significant frustration following a draw against Nottingham Forest, a result he believes was unfairly impacted by a malfunction with the fourth official's equipment. The delay in substitutions, caused by the electronic board not working, prevented Iraola from making tactical changes, which he argues contributed to a penalty being awarded to Forest.
"This cannot be a professional fourth official," Iraola stated. "It cannot take… I don’t know, three minutes (for him to ready the board). We’ve already given the subs’ numbers two or three minutes before. I was already angry because in the previous stoppage we couldn’t make (the triple sub), and before the throw-in I said, ‘OK we’ll do it now’. But I don’t know (what happened). They will have to explain it, but it has taken ages to not prepare two boards."
Iraola contended that the inability to make his planned triple substitution for approximately three minutes, due to the broken board, meant his team was not properly positioned to defend the attack that led to the penalty. The incident occurred after a throw-in, with Forest quickly exploiting the situation while Liverpool's substitutes were still waiting to enter the match.
New signing Victor Munoz scored an equalizer for Liverpool, who also saw Alexander Isak score his first goal of the campaign. Nottingham Forest had twice taken the lead through Dan Ndoye and a Morgan Gibbs-White penalty. The match ultimately ended in a draw, marking another early-season result that failed to satisfy.
The club is reportedly nearing the completion of a £123 million transfer for Bradley Barcola, who is expected to arrive from Paris for a medical and a five-year contract. Iraola acknowledged that transfer activity is ongoing, stating, "It is true that there are things going on and that is normal. We are in the last weeks of the market and now we have to wait to see the squad that we will have on September 2, and this is who we are."
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner expressed satisfaction with his team's performance and securing their first point of the season. His side is also active in the transfer market, with moves for Daniel Munoz and Harrison Armstrong reportedly in the works. "Could be more," Glasner responded when asked if only those two players would be arriving. "I have no idea. I have just played outside. I am full of emotions, very confident that we find the right players and characters and today everyone involved in the game deserves us to be talking about him. They deserve all the credit."
The Premier League has been approached for comment regarding the fourth official incident. The draw leaves both sides looking to build momentum as the season progresses.