Arsenal needed to beat Chelsea, but poor officiating made it hard

In the end, we’re not talking about football, the players or the impact on the title race armory versus chelsea The match ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon. Despite this being the biggest clash of the Women’s Super League (WSL) season between two top teams (the reigning domestic champions and the reigning European champions), instead we had to talk about some terrible officiating decisions that completely overshadowed the massive, high-stakes clash.

The story was supposed to be about how Arsenal, a team that had consistently dropped points all season, struggled to stop Chelsea in a game that made the Blues strong favorites for the title.

Instead, we’re left talking about how different the game would be with VAR technology, how much the WSL needs to invest better in officiating, and how annoying it is that the same situations keep happening over and over again. Many of the 56,537 fans of both Chelsea and Arsenal booed the officials as they were walked off the field and although this may be common in men’s football, it is possibly the first time that there has been such a strong reaction from opposing fans in a women’s game.

after alyssa thompsonAn excellent opener for Chelsea, the focus turned to a corner that wasn’t a corner, leading to a goal being disallowed for handball that wasn’t a handball; a yellow card that should have been red; Then an offside goal which stood; Soon after a potential winning goal was ruled out for offside which in reality was not.

First, Arsenal won a corner in the 53rd minute that should have been a goal kick as it came last from the Arsenal boot. due to this Stina Blackstenius He brought the ball down with his body and scored the equalizing goal on the roof of the net. However, it was this action – where the ball passed close to him but did not touch, with his arm in an unnatural position – that began the controversy, as referee Melissa Bergin ruled it out for handball, much to the Gunners’ dismay.

arsenal midfielder Victoria Pelova Then I was lucky enough to stay on the pitch after the stud-up challenge keira walshThe calf injury saw him earn a yellow card, but in reality it should have been a red. With VAR, an intervention would potentially send the Netherlands internationals off and change the nature of the game again.

As soon as the 87th minute ended, alessia russo Then found the back of the net with an expert leveler to make it 1-1, but it shouldn’t have stood like this England The striker was clearly offside – albeit marginally.

And, in a final twist of fate, Frieda Ma’am An expert counter-attack soon afterwards gave Arsenal what they thought was the winner, but it was pulled up for offside despite the last defender being level.

Those mistakes changed the whole game. After full time, and given that they needed the result so badly, Arsenal were furious. Chelsea may have escaped with a point, but it would be unfair to say that the decision went entirely against the Blues.

Indeed, afterwards, both managers called for the inclusion of VAR technology to reduce errors in the game.

“At the moment, if you ask me, I think in a game like this, we just need decisions. We need justice. I think that’s where VAR and technology can come in,” Arsenal boss Rene Slagers told a press conference. “Yes, there’s a lot at stake in the WSL, at the top, but also the relegation battle and everything in between. There’s a lot at stake, I think we have to look at how we move the game forward in all aspects.”

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USWNT’s Thompson scores Chelsea’s first WSL goal

Alyssa Thompson scores her first goal for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League versus Arsenal.

While Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor, who kept their 32-match unbeaten run in the WSL intact, said: “When you analyze the men’s game, it happens too, you have big games and we end up talking about refereeing. It happens. People probably need to look at the quality of both teams.

“This match is probably one of the most beautiful games in the world. Everyone wants to be in this game for many reasons, two good teams, the atmosphere at the Emirates was great. So it’s really great promotion for the WSL. We need to balance that with the refereeing.”

This is not the first time that Chelsea and Arsenal have had to suffer the consequences of lack of technology or poor decisions. Last season, the reverse clash at Stamford Bridge had similar results, with calls for VAR and standards in refereeing to be improved. This is a continuation of the issues created by the lack of fully professional and well-paid referees in the WSL.

In fact, it is the same story that has continued for over a year with little change from the league, despite a takeover at the start of last season that promised investment in officiating. Investing in improving the standard of refereeing is the first step; It can then be discussed how and when expensive technology will be introduced, especially VAR which has positives as well as negatives, as we have seen in the men’s game

But with 14 games left in the WSL season, it won’t be the last time this topic hits the headlines. And that leaves a question: How many more games will be ruined before improvements are made?