There have long been questions raised by players, managers and fans around the quality of referees within the women’s game. These came to fruition again last night after controversy in the Champions League last night.
Chelsea started their last Champions League campaign under manager Emma Hayes last night. The game against Real Madrid resulted in a draw but was not without its controversies.
Speaking after the match, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes described the refereeing decisions as ‘embarrassing’ and that her team were ‘robbed’ of all three points.
Both the incidents occurred late into the second half.
Madrid scored a penalty to bring the score level at 2-2, after a Jessie Fleming lunge on del Castillo. It was an unfortunate call for the blues as replays showed the foul to be outside the box.
The second incident also went against Chelsea, who had a Niamh Charles goal ruled out in the final few seconds of the game. The goal was ruled out for an offside, but the replays showed that their Number 21 had timed her run perfectly.
There were also questions raised within the Bayern Munich game when Jovan Damnjanovic was lucky to escape a red card during their game against Roma.
It is worth noting that there was no VAR during either match, as it only comes into effect in the knockout rounds. Potentially, this means if the match was played later on in the season, it could have been a different result entirely.
Another important point to know is that most of the competition’s referee’s are not full-time.
The same can be said about the referees in the Women’s Super League, where there are also questions surrounding decisions, what seems to feel like every weekend.
One of the most controversial moments of the season, so far, came in only the second game week, when Chelsea travelled to the Joie Stadium to face Manchester City, where Alex Greenwood was controversially sent off.
City’s skipper was sent off after receiving her second yellow card in the 38th minute for ‘time wasting’ taking a free kick. It took 26 seconds before the defender made an attempt to play the ball, which the referee deemed too long.
There have long been calls from managers within the league for the addition of VAR, with Hayes first speaking about it in 2021.
It is interesting that VAR is in such demand through the WSL when it is under such controversy within the Premier League.
But ultimately,the women’s game needs consistent and accurate refereeing, to help it grow as a game. During the World Cup in the summer, we saw it being used well and there was little controversy surrounding it. This could have come from the in-stadium announcements, which provided clarity for the players and fans on the situation in-hand.
There are also queries around whether if the refer
One fan said, “VAR shouldn’t be implemented into the WSL until there is consistency with refereeing without it. Otherwise all we are going to see are mistakes of a bigger scale and more people passing the blame around.”
Another fan said, “Having VAR in the WSL and every stage of the Women’s Champions League would mean its equal rules for equal competitions, meaning a fairer game overall”
It is fair to say that the issue surrounding refereeing decisions isn’t going to go away anytime soon, and will always be a topic of scrutiny.