Ex-referee Scott calls substitution boards 'not fit for purpose' after Iraola's Liverpool fury

Former Premier League referee Graham Scott has described the electronic substitution boards used in the top flight as “not fit for purpose”, wading into the controversy that overshadowed Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola was visibly furious during the match after claiming he had tried to make a triple substitution several minutes before it was eventually processed — a delay he believes contributed directly to Forest’s late equaliser. Iraola told reporters: “I wanted to make those three subs like three minutes before. And there have been two, three or four times I think the ball has gone out and I still don’t know the reason why we haven’t made the subs. I think definitely he was having some problems with the board or something.”

The Spaniard also questioned whether a penalty should have been awarded to his side, though he left that judgement to others.

Scott, posting on X, offered a detailed explanation of why the process can be so slow. “Each number has to be entered manually, and they only count up one at a time,” he wrote. “Entering number 38 on its own could take several seconds and there are six numbers to plug in here.” He added that sponsorship branding makes the boards heavy and difficult to handle, which is why fourth officials often rest them on the ground rather than holding them upright.

Scott also pointed to a structural difference between Premier League and UEFA competitions. In European matches, clubs enter the player numbers themselves, speeding up the process considerably — a system the Premier League temporarily adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic but subsequently abandoned.

He was careful, however, to note that the fourth official still carries a duty of care. “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.”

When a fan argued the process should not take three minutes, Scott offered a more measured verdict on Iraola’s claims. “It shouldn’t take three minutes, agreed. But we have no evidence that it did, only Iraola’s word for it. I’ve stood next to him many times and say there’s just a chance he’s exaggerating for effect and to deflect from his goalkeeper’s rash challenge. I could be wrong, obvs.”

The draw leaves Liverpool with a mixed start to the Premier League season and the substitution controversy is likely to reignite debate about whether the league should modernise its matchday procedures in line with UEFA’s current practice.