"In the end, we were not talking about the football, players, or implications on the title race, as Arsenal vs. Chelsea ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon. Despite it being arguably the biggest clash of the Women's Super League (WSL) season, between two of the top teams (the reigning domestic champions and reigning European champions), we were instead left talking about some dreadful officiating decisions that completely overshadowed what should have been a massive high-stakes clash."
"Instead, we were left discussing how different the game would be with VAR technology, how badly the WSL needs better investment in officiating, and how annoying it is that the same situations keep happening time and time again. Many of the 56,537 fans -- from both Chelsea and Arsenal -- berated the officials as they trudged off the pitch and while that may be common in men's football,"
"After Alyssa Thompson's fine chipped opener for Chelsea, the focus turned to a corner that wasn't a corner, which led to a goal disallowed for handball that was not a handball; a yellow card that should have been a red; then an offside goal that stood; which was soon followed by a potential winning goal disallowed for offside that actually wasn't."
Arsenal and Chelsea drew 1-1 in a high-profile WSL match that featured a fine chipped opener from Alyssa Thompson for Chelsea. A series of contentious officiating decisions dominated the match: a corner incorrectly awarded, a goal disallowed for an apparent non-handball, a yellow card that many considered deserving of a red, an offside goal that stood, and a potential winning goal wrongly ruled out for offside. The mistakes prompted strong jeers from all 56,537 spectators and intensified calls for VAR and greater investment in refereeing. The result left Chelsea reinforced as title favorites while Arsenal continued dropping points.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]