"Horrific!": scathing criticism of the referees in the Liverpool and Nottingham match

A controversial decision raises questions

The referees' conduct in the Liverpool versus Nottingham Forest match astonished Reds manager Andoni Iraola and former team stars Steven Gerrard and Stephen Warnock. They held up Liverpool making three substitutions at once, minutes before the visitors won and converted a penalty for a second goal.

The Premier League clash ended on Saturday in a two-all draw, in the competition's second round.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard reckons they can have no objections to the penalty itself, but he sympathised with Iraola's anger over the substitutions.

Gerrard told TNT Sports: "You can understand the frustration. In this day and age, with all this technology, it cannot take three minutes to make a triple substitution."

He continued: "But I think it is a small problem within the overall problem, because it is a goal that could have been avoided."

Stephen Warnock, the former Liverpool and England left-back, agreed with his former team-mate.

He told the BBC: "Andoni Iraola wanted to make three changes, but the assistant referee did not allow it."

He added: "That would have stopped play completely. It is an awful thing from the fourth official."

Victor Munoz snatched Liverpool a point, scoring his first goal for the club eight minutes from time.

Read also: What he did sparks controversy: Iraola erupts in anger at the referee of the Nottingham match