Sonia Bompastor criticised VAR after a late incident in which Katie McCabe appeared to pull Alyssa Thompson’s hair and no review was called. The Chelsea manager was booked for protesting the decision and then sent off moments later after a second yellow card.
Bompastor received a yellow for confronting the referee when McCabe was not penalised and VAR did not signal for a review. Less than a minute later she stepped onto the pitch to retrieve the ball and was shown a second yellow, resulting in a red card.
She questioned why the incident was not checked by VAR, echoing concerns she had raised after the first leg of the tie. Bompastor said she was emotional because the contact was clear to everyone and asked why VAR would not go back to “check and have a clear call on that,” citing the impact on her player.
Chelsea forward Alyssa Thompson was reported to be upset after the incident. McCabe posted on social media saying the contact was not intentional: she wrote she had been reaching for the shirt and would never want to pull someone’s hair, adding respect to Thompson.
Former WSL striker Ellen White told BBC Sport she was “really shocked” VAR did not send the referee to review the challenge, calling the contact “very cynical” and saying similar incidents have previously warranted a straight red and a review. White suggested a review could have changed the tie by potentially producing a red card and a set-piece for Chelsea.
Arsenal boss Renée Slegers said she had not seen the moment live but, after viewing a still image, thought it probably was not intentional and wanted to study the footage before commenting further.
Bompastor also reiterated concerns about the match officials, naming referee Frida Klarlund and VAR official Katrin Rafalski and pointing to what she described as mistakes involving both in earlier Champions League matches affecting Chelsea. She said those past incidents made their handling of this game harder to accept and argued her players deserved more respect for their performance.
The tie finished amid controversy: Chelsea won the night 1-0 but lost 3-2 on aggregate, with Arsenal progressing to face either Lyon or Wolfsburg in the semi-finals. Sky Sports News’ James Green wrote that Bompastor’s frustration was understandable given the perceived clarity of the hair pull and the context of previous errors involving the same officials.