Arsenal vs Chelsea controversy highlights VAR issue in WSL title race
Sunday's London derby was very nearly decided by another controversial penalty call, rekindling the argument for the women's top-flight to employ VAR technology.
Sam Kerr came to the rescue for the Blues, with a dramatic yet almost predictable 89th-minute equaliser from the Australian striker preventing the Gunners from claiming bragging rights in this entertaining WSL title race.
But had Kerr not produced a characteristic late leveller to keep the Blues at the top of the table with a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium, perhaps more might have been made of the controversial penalty call in the second-half that saw referee Emily Heaslip award it for Niamh Charles’s challenge on Caitlin Foord, which was clearly outside of the box - as seen in a slow-mo video.
The call represented the latest flashpoint in a running catalogue of contentious decisions in the women’s game that could determine the outcome of what is swiftly becoming one of the tightest title races in recent WSL history, with Manchester United and Arsenal just three points behind league leaders Chelsea but both touting games in hand.
The episode reignites the conversation around the lack of VAR technology in the top flight of England's women’s game and whether the dearth requires more immediate addressing.
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It is a drum that high-profile managers in the women’s game have been banging for years, including Blues manager Emma Hayes, who after a 3-2 opening day loss to Arsenal at the Emirates last season notably likened the lack of VAR and goal-line technology in the women’s game to treating the players like "second-class citizens" after Beth Mead’s goal stood despite the Arsenal striker looking offside.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw threatened to follow a similar narrative had Kerr and substitute Jelena Cankovic not linked up just before the 90th minute. And as her side celebrated the salvaged point, Hayes’ comments rang a tired note as she acknowledged that the lack of technology once again threatened to jeopardise the professionalism and quality that has come to define the women’s top-flight.
“We could spend a long time talking about different rules and laws etc,” Hayes said. “One law of the game is if there's a first contact outside of the box, and it's not carried into the box, it's a free-kick, which we thought initially that maybe that's what the foul was for, but it wasn't.
“The referee gave the decision for a tangling of legs in the box, but I think that’s impossible to avoid when a player's already going down.
Hayes added: “The referee’s made that decision - just get on with it, no point talking about it. VAR needs to be in the game, whether it's to confirm it or deny it, but it's not anything we haven't already said.”
Chelsea are far from the only club left feeling aggrieved this season due to a contentious call. Reading's Kelly Chambers has not been reticent in voicing her disproval of certain officiating decisions and where VAR might have intervened.
Liverpool's Matt Beard bemoaned a decision to award a penalty after the Reds Rachael Laws was adjudged to have brought Aston Villa's Kirsty Hanson down in the area in November.
Chelsea's Sam Kerr celebrates after scoring her team's equaliser during the FA Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Chelsea. (Photo by Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)The Liverpool boss said : "I’ve watched it back, I’ve been in with (the referee). I’ve got respect for Robert (Massey-Ellis) but it’s not a penalty. Rachael’s won the ball cleanly and anywhere else on the pitch it’s a great tackle. That’s frustrating. I don’t know what a penalty is anymore."
UEFA implemented VAR at last summer's Women's European Championships, with the technology coming under fire from Swedish star Kosovare Asllani, who labelled it "a catastrophe" amid claims that 50 per cent fewer cameras were used in comparison to men's matches, despite Sweden also being angry at having had five goals ruled out during the tournament.
Elsewhere, the technology has been employed in UEFA Women's Champions League knockout rounds and final last season as well as the finals in 2021 and 2020.
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Despite the incessant call for VAR to be deployed in the women's top flight, the cost to subsidise the technology per match, even at men’s stadiums that regularly utilise it, comes at a high and often improbable premium for women's teams.
The result, however, leaves the match and the league vulnerable to erroneous calls that could dictate the season’s outcome. Earlier this year, Kelly Simmons, director of the women’s professional game at the FA, told The Times she was “really keen” to introduce a VAR-light system to the Women’s Super League in order to combat the financial issues.
The scaled-back versions of the technology would be more affordable for clubs without the same monetary clout as those such as Chelsea and Arsenal, albeit the systems would not be able to provide offside or goal-line technology, although video officials can step in if TV replays show the ball is clearly over the line.
The roll-out was reportedly set to commence at the start of the 2023-24 season but the remainder of this season will continue to be played without VAR's employment.
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