Remarkable Man City red card puts referee in firing line after Liverpool display
The biggest talking point in this weekend's Women's Super League saw England star Alex Greenwood sent off in remarkable fashion during nine-woman Manchester City's dramatic 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Nine-player City, ahead through a sensational early strike from Chloe Kelly, were eventually undone by Chelsea's relentless salvos and numerical advantage deep into second-half injury time as Guro Reiten slotted home from a corner. But the dramatics were overshadowed by the strict officiating decisions that ultimately defined the game’s machinations.
Referee Emily Heaslip was at the helm for Sunday’s early heavyweight match-up and booked Greenwood for time wasting shortly before the interval. The Lioness, celebrating her 100th appearance for City, was standing over a free-kick inside her own half.
Unfortunately the 26 seconds between the foul being given and Greenwood attempting to pick out a teammate was deemed too long by Heaslip, who flashed the 30-year-old a yellow card. And Greenwood, also booked earlier for a foul, was subsequently dismissed, much to the incredulity of the players and fans in attendance.
Greenwood’s City teammate Laia Aleixandri was swiftly booked for dissent, as were Jill Roord and Lauren Hemp later on, the latter of whom would also be dismissed after receiving a second yellow card late in the second half for a foul.
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The decision immediately incurred backlash. Arsenal legend Ian Wright branded it “embarrassing” as former Lioness Fara Williams claimed it “ruined the game”.
Heaslip's performance has come under further fierce scrutiny because the official had also taken control of Liverpool’s shock 1-0 win over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on opening weekend, where the officiating was marked by far fewer shows of discipline for time wasting and dissent - indeed she was remarkably lenient - as Matt Beard’s side slogged out their marginal victory away from home.
Alex Greenwood of Manchester City leaves the pitch after being shown a red card (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)The same could not be said for Sunday’s clash, in which 11 cards were shown across the match, two of them being second yellows. In contrast, there were only four bookings at the Emirates the previous week, despite Liverpool's time-wasting as they looked to hold onto their lead.
The Women’s Super League, like the Premier League, has tasked its officials with clamping down on time-wasting and dissent this season.
After the match, Man City boss Gareth Taylor emphasised how the decision “changed the game” but refrained from launching a tirade against Heaslip, who was escorted off the pitch along with her officiating team by security.
“I spoke to Emma [Hayes] at the end. Neither of us enjoyed that. Those few decisions were a spoiler,” Taylor said.
“All we want to see is consistency. If that’s going to happen in a game like that, then we need to see that applied across every game."
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