UEFA has rejected Sonia Bompastor’s criticism of officiating standards in the Women’s Champions League after the Chelsea boss slammed VAR for failing to penalise Arsenal’s Katie McCabe for pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair during Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg. The governing body insists it has full faith in the officials selected for the competition.
Bompastor was shown two yellow cards, resulting in a red during Chelsea’s 1-0 win, which saw the Blues crash out 3-2 on aggregate to Arsenal.
The French manager was fuming after VAR failed to review McCabe’s clear hair pull on Thompson late in the match, and also referenced the disallowed Veerle Buurman goal from the first leg.
Katie McCabe pulled Alyssa Thompson’s hair in the final minutes of Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Arsenal. 😳
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor was booked for her protests…
Should McCabe have been shown a red card? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/umEXlLLSwd
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 1, 2026
Bompastor Questions Why VAR Not Checking Incidents
“I can probably understand the referees sometimes can’t see that, but I don’t understand why the VAR is not checking that situation,” Bompastor explained after the match. “At the end, I’m the one who gets a red card, where I think the Arsenal player should be the one who gets a red card. What is the VAR doing in these games? If we have the VAR, why are we not checking these situations? It’s not good enough.”
Thompson was reportedly crying after the incident, with the American winger visibly upset by McCabe’s actions. However, McCabe later posted on social media that the hair pull was not intentional, saying she was genuinely reaching for the shirt.
🤕 —• Arsenal’s Katie McCabe even apologized for that Cucurella’sque hair pull-back on Alyssa Thompson — but somehow the entire officiation team flagged it as a fair act#CHEARS | #UWCL pic.twitter.com/sus4UTnPiH
— Magyezi (@gyezi_) April 2, 2026
UEFA Stands Firm on Referee Standards
Sky Sports News understands UEFA has full faith in the officials selected in the Champions League this season, given their experience in European and international competitions. The governing body is confident in their training and development plans for referees in the women’s game, something they’ve invested heavily in over recent years.
Bompastor’s frustration is completely understandable given the obvious nature of the incident.
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor showed a clip in her post-match interview, claiming Katie McCabe should have been sent off for a hair pull on Alyssa Thompson.
Sonia herself was shown a red card during the game for dissent after reacting towards the referee for not stopping play. pic.twitter.com/BoGHE2tCPs
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 2, 2026
Also read: Sonia Bompastor Refuses to Address Sam Kerr Exit Speculation Amid Chelsea Striker’s Uncertain Future