There was one major bone of contention in the Women’s Super League (WSL) this weekend as those new refereeing standards caused issues again. These are the key talking points from the WSL, along with some highlights from European action.
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Referee takes centre stage in Manchester
Yeah, we really have to start with this one, don’t we? As highlighted last week, there has been a concerted clampdown on fouls, perceived timewasting and dissent in the WSL, but those new rules were pushed to the limit on Sunday afternoon as Manchester City had two players sent off in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Chelsea’s Guro Reiten scrambled a 96th-minute equaliser to cancel out Chloe Kelly‘s seventh-minute opener.
But it was a match that, ultimately, had very little football in it after the 37th-minute sending off of City captain Alex Greenwood for a second yellow card as she apparently took too long (a whole 26 seconds) over a free kick. In total, referee Emily Heaslip brandished 11 cautions — three for City’s Kelly, Laia Aleixandri and Jill Roord in protest at the decision — including second yellows for Greenwood and then Lauren Hemp in the 81st minute, as most fouls or dissent seemed to carry an automatic booking.
Rather than…
