Bompastor angry with VAR after McCabe hair pull

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said her players "do not deserve that level of refereeing" after Arsenal's Katie McCabe avoided a red card for pulling Alyssa Thompson's hair during their Champions League quarter-final exit.

The Blues were chasing a late leveller after scoring an added-time goal to make it 3-2 on aggregate when McCabe reached out and tugged Thompson's hair.

The United States winger was breaking forward, but McCabe escaped a yellow card and the video assistant referee (VAR) did not advise referee Frida Mia Klarlund to review the incident.

Bompastor was shown a yellow card for angrily protesting against the decision and was then sent off as she continued her outburst - although she refused to leave the touchline as Arsenal held on to reach the semi-finals.

The furious Frenchwoman arrived for an interview with BBC Two prepared with her mobile phone so she could show a replay of the incident.

"For me, it is clearly a red card for the Arsenal player. She's pulling Alyssa Thompson's hair," Bompastor said.

"If the VAR is not able to check that situation, I don't know why we have the VAR.

"I'm the one getting a red card when I think the Arsenal player should be the one getting a red card."

Shortly after full-time, McCabe posted on Instagram: "I just want to clarify that I was genuinely reaching for the shirt. I wouldn't ever want to pull someone's hair. Full respect to Thompson."

Former England captain Steph Houghton said: "It doesn't look great, does it? Chelsea had just scored, Thompson was driving with the ball. It is really, really cynical and it doesn't look great."

Bompastor said Thompson was "crying and emotional" after the game.

"She's trying her best on the pitch in both games and it is not good enough - when you are playing football and someone pulls your hair, it's bad," she added.

After both players went to ground, McCabe appeared to apologise to Thompson.

"I didn't see the incident on the pitch when it was happening but I did see Katie going to Alyssa to apologise," Arsenal boss Renee Slegers said.

"My assumption is it's not intentional but it is of course unlucky."

Brighton midfielder Fran Kirby said: "It's a surprise that they've not looked back at that on VAR. I don't think McCabe means to grab Thompson's hair. I think she goes to grab her shirt."

In the men's game, Everton's Michael Keane was sent off for pulling the hair of Wolves' Tolu Arokodare in the Premier League in January.

In a similar previous incident, Jack Stephens was dismissed for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair when Southampton played Chelsea in the English top flight in December 2024.

Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves was also sent off for pulling the hair of Cucurella during the Club World Cup final last summer.

After the first leg at Emirates Stadium, Bompastor criticised the standard of officiating and called for "more respect" in the women's game after her side had two goals disallowed.

"We are speaking too much about the referees and that was the case last week," Bompastor said.

"But everyone needs to understand that's the difference between being qualified and not being qualified. It has a big impact on players.

"I'm really proud of my players, I think they gave everything and they don't deserve that level of refereeing again."