Power Failure Freezes Champions League Action at Stamford Bridge
A crucial Women's Champions League encounter between Chelsea and Barcelona was unexpectedly suspended on Thursday night due to a complete power outage at Stamford Bridge. The match was delicately poised with the score level, just as Chelsea were attempting to rebuild momentum following Barcelona's equaliser.
Stadium Plunged into Darkness and Silence
In near-freezing conditions of just two degrees Celsius in west London, all electronic systems in the stadium failed simultaneously. This critical failure affected not only the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, preventing officials from communicating, but also the live television broadcasts. Viewers watching on BBC Two and iPlayer were met with a blank screen and an error message that read: 'We are sorry for the break in this programme and are trying to correct the fault.' The Disney+ stream was also interrupted.
Players Left in the Cold as Broadcasts Fail
With no functioning VAR, the match officials had no choice but to bring the game to a complete standstill. Both sets of players were left waiting on the pitch for just over five minutes in the bitter cold until power was restored and systems rebooted. Commentating for BBC Radio 5Live, former Chelsea star Fran Kirby expressed sympathy for the viewers and players, noting the strangeness of the situation. She stated, 'As a player it is a bit strange to see a game stopped because the cameras are not working... The players won't want to be standing around on a cold night like this.'
Once play resumed after the lengthy delay, Barcelona appeared to regain their composure more effectively. The first half eventually concluded after a significant nine minutes of added time was shown by the officials. The match had seen Chelsea take an early lead through a wonderful solo effort from Ellie Carpenter, before Ewa Pajor capitalised on a defensive error from the Blues to level the score.
