Arsenal's Australian assistant Aaron D'Antino. Image source: CBS/UEFA Women's Champions League
Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead in extraordinary circumstances as Paris FC fought back to claim a 2-2 draw in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Thursday (AEST).
The Gunners, who had Matildas star Kyra Cooney-Cross in the starting XI while Caitlin Foord came off the bench, with Steph Catley absence through injury, led 2-0 after 50 minutes before it all went down hill for the Women’s Super League (WSL) giants in France.
The defining moment came late in the contest when Arsenal goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez appeared to roll the ball towards captain Leah Williamson to take a goal-kick. Williamson stopped it with her hand, but the referee ruled play had already restarted and awarded Paris FC an 87th-minute penalty, which was converted to complete the comeback.
The decision centred on whether the goal-kick had actually been taken. Under IFAB’s Law 16, the ball must be stationary before a goal-kick and only comes into play once it is kicked and clearly moves – something Arsenal disputed had occurred.
WOW! What on earth has happened here? 😮
Arsenal's Leah Williamson concedes a bizarre penalty to give Paris FC a penalty 👀
📺 Watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League live on @DisneyPlusUK pic.twitter.com/T3MWzaFzAC
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) September 30, 2026
The incident, described as a “freak accident” by forward Alessia Russo, reportedly left Arsenal players and staff emotional after the final whistle, with Australian assistant coach Aaron D’Antino among those questioning the decision in the absence of head coach Renee Slegers – who skipped her media duties.
“Yes, we don’t put ourselves in that situation in the first place,” D’Antino said.
“If we’re looking at what we can control, it’s just passing the ball to Leah from what I remember seeing, the ball was still rolling and she was moving it to Leah for her to take the goal kick as we normally do.
“So maybe the learning in that is how we get the ball to Leah, so we don’t put ourselves in that situation.”
D’Antino, who has worked as Arsenal’s assistant coach since 2018, added: “But yes, like I said, as far as we’re concerned, that’s not [a penalty].
“We haven’t taken a goal kick, there’s no advantage gained by Leah stopping the ball. But as an example of refereeing decisions, we just can’t put ourselves in that situation in the first place.”
The result has only increased the pressure on under-fire head coach Slegers following an underwhelming start to 2026-27.
Arsenal have only won one of their opening four WSL fixtures this season (L1, D2) after losing to London rivals Chelsea last time out.
They also needed a late penalty to see of BK Hacken on matchday one in the Champions League.
Arsenal’s current shot conversion rate (2.5%) is the lowest in the WSL since Yeovil Town were a professional team in 2017-18.
“It is incredibly frustrating, and we are disappointed and very upset that we let our two-goal lead slip. I think the most frustrating part is how much we are working behind the scenes to try and turn this around, and it is just not going our way at the moment,” D’Antino said speaking to UEFA.
“The biggest thing for us at the moment is continuing to unlock the final third. But we also need to continue believing that we have the depth of squad we need to succeed.
“We also need to find moments where we can attack quicker, and at the right times to punish teams when we are not facing really disciplined, low block sides.”
He continued: “Belief is the key word for us. We have an incredibly high-quality squad. I wouldn’t say we’ve been in this situation before, but we have been through similar times.
“We have shown that in the past we respond well to adversity, so it is in leaning on those moments that we can get through it.”
Elsewhere, Matildas star Ellie Carpenter helped Chelsea hold eight-time European champions Lyon to a 0-0 draw.
It was a reunion for Carpenter, who won a pair of Champions League titles with Lyon before moving to Chelsea last year.
Aivi Luik started BK Hacken’s 3-0 loss to Juventus, while Wini Heatley came off the bench in Roma’s 6-0 rout at the hands of Barcelona.