Chelsea star slams ‘unacceptable’ refereeing in Arsenal tie | OneFootball

Chelsea star Keira Walsh said the refereeing was ‘not acceptable’ as her side were knocked out of the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals by Arsenal.

The Blues won 1-0 on the night at Stamford Bridge, but still lost 3-2 on aggregate. However, the headlines were taken by controversial officiating.

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor was left outraged when Katie McCabe escaped a late red card for a hair pull on Alyssa Thompson. Whilst Arsenal manger Renee Slegers came to the defence of her player. Both sides also had goals ruled out by tight margins in the tie.

“It’s been frustrating for us over both legs,” reflected Walsh. “You could look at it for both teams to be honest. I think there were some very dubious ones for both teams.

“I just think it’s disappointing that at this stage of the Champions League it is a little bit like that sometimes. It overshadows the actual quality of the game.

“As a female footballer that’s just disappointing in general because it shouldn’t be about the referees, it should be about the quality that’s on display.

“For me, at this stage of a big competition, that shouldn’t be happening. That’s not acceptable.”

The England international continued: “You could look at it for both teams. Obviously we’re not happy with our decisions but I guess Arsenal will feel the same about theirs.

“I just think, like I said, it just overshadows the whole game.

“There was some real quality on display tonight if you look at some of our players and the way that we played. I think we want people talking about that rather than the decisions that didn’t go our way.

“People need to have a look at it and hopefully it can improve for next season.”