Sonia Bompastor has criticised Champions League refereeing as “not good enough” after Chelsea were eliminated by Arsenal in a quarter-final marred by controversy. The Chelsea manager was shown two yellow cards as emotions boiled over following Katie McCabe’s hair pull on Alyssa Thompson, which went unpunished.
Arsenal progressed despite the incident, with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge insufficient for Chelsea to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit. Sjoeke Nüsken’s injury-time strike gave the hosts hope, but on the break immediately after, McCabe dragged Thompson down by the hair. Danish referee Frida Klarlund waved away furious appeals for a red card.
Bompastor questioned why the VAR did not intervene, referencing a similar incident in the first leg when Veerle Buurman’s goal was incorrectly ruled out. “It’s clear for everyone: I had one of my players whose hair was pulled,” she said. “Why the VAR is not checking that situation?”
The Chelsea boss also hit back at McCabe’s claim that the hair pull was unintentional, stating: “I think the intention is clear for me: she tried to grab the hair. And I think for that reason, it’s clearly a red card.”
Arsenal thought they had sealed the tie when Stina Blackstenius headed in, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Chelsea pushed for an equaliser, with Lauren James forcing a save and Buurman hitting the post, before Nüsken’s late strike. Arsenal manager Renée Slegers said: “We take nothing for granted, we need to earn the right.”
