Arsenal’s progress to the Women’s Champions League semi-finals was marred by a hair pulling controversy that left Chelsea boss Sonia Bompaster seething.
The Blues’ 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night was not enough to overturn their 3-1 first leg deficit, but Bompaster felt the Gunners should have been down to 10 following a bizarre moment involving Arsenal star Kate McCabe and Chelsea rival Alyssa Thompson.
As Thompson raced away from McCabe with the ball, the Irish star pulled back on her opponent’s ponytail, causing her to dramatically fall to the turf.
However, McCabe escaped a red card for violent conduct with VAR not intervening to assist referee Frida Klarlund.
Instead, Bompaster was sent off for remonstrating against the decision.
McCabe later took to Instagram to insist that she was ‘genuinely’ reaching for Thompson’s shirt, offering her opponent ‘full respect’, but Bompastor felt the episode deserved a review by the match officials.
As Chelsea’s Alyssa Thompson raced away, Arsenal’s Kate McCabe pulled on her opponent’s ponytail, causing her to dramatically fall to the turf
McCabe escaped a red card for violent conduct – and Chelsea boss Sonia Bompaster was sent off instead for remonstrating against the decision
Still furious with the decision, the Chelsea boss produced her phone during her post-match interview to show a replay of the controversial incident.
‘I just think it’s not good enough,’ said Bompastor, who was visibly outraged on the touchline. ‘At the end I’m the one who gets a red card where I think the Arsenal player should be the one who gets a red card.
‘What is the VAR doing in these games? If we have the VAR, why are we not checking these situations? I don’t understand, and it’s not good enough.’
Chelsea entered the second leg needing to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Arsenal in an opening fixture that was also clouded by an officiating debate after they had two goals controversially disallowed, with VAR upholding both decisions.
Bompastor added: ‘I think I’m being really frustrated and upset, not only for me, I think for my players. I think they deserve a lot more respect for the performance they put on the pitch.
‘I know (UEFA head of women’s football) Nadine Kessler was here today to watch the game and we need to do a much better job, because at the end it’s probably not the reason why, but one team is through to the semi-final and the other one not.’
Chelsea look unlikely to catch Manchester City in the WSL title chase but remain alive in the FA Cup, and will take on Tottenham in Monday’s quarter-final.
‘The reality is, for a club like Chelsea, (our season) is not good enough’ admitted Bompastor. ‘I’m not happy about the fact that I can’t help the team more than we did this season.’
During her post-match interview, the furious Blues boss pulled out her phone to show a replay of the incident
McCabe took to Instagram to reveal that she did not intentionally pull her opponent’s hair
Arsenal’s Champions League title defence continues with a semi-final matchup against either Lyon or Wolfsburg, who enter Friday’s decider locked in a goalless aggregate stalemate.
Boss Renee Slegers, who did not feel the hair pull was deliberate, said: ‘It was an unbelievable performance from the team, because it is a hard scenario.
‘I think it’s special to be a part of this. I really enjoy being with these people every single day and the process that we’re in and the results that we’re getting.
‘I think everyone feels this way about what we’re doing at the moment. We can never get comfortable in this, even though we have to enjoy where we are at, but we have to keep on striving for more and better.’
