On a weekend in which the latest international break in the men’s game allowed the Women’s Super League extra focus, the number of officiating errors was stark.
This was Women’s Football Weekend, with five of the six matches played being held at the home club’s main stadium, but the quality of decision-making from the referees and their assistants was far from the level expected.
For starters, there were big offside calls that went the wrong way in every game involving one of the top three.
Manchester City’s opener against Manchester United was allowed despite Bunny Shaw clearly coming back from an offside position to be involved in the build-up, West Ham United had a legitimate equaliser against Chelsea ruled out and Arsenal’s late, clinching third goal in a 3-1 away win against Aston Villa stood despite striker Stina Blackstenius being both offside and handling the ball.
Refereeing has long been a contentious topic in the WSL, with its match officials still not being full-time professionals. Managers, including Chelsea’s Emma Hayes, have called for the introduction of VAR in the past but there are complications involved in bringing it into the league based on costs and the quality of the grounds used most often by teams.
Chelsea, for example, did have a trial run…
