November 17th 2023.
Emma Hayes was left livid with the officials after Chelsea's draw with Real Madrid in their Champions League opener, and it appears that UEFA has taken notice of the incident.
The Blues were trailing 2-1 late on in the game, before a controversial penalty was awarded to Los Blancos for a foul on Athenea del Castillo outside the box. This penalty was converted to level the match, however the Blues appeared to have bagged a late winner when Niamh Charles volleyed home a deep cross, only to have the goal ruled out due to an offside flag.
Replays revealed that Charles had been onside and while there was an offside team-mate making a run towards the ball, it was not significant enough to rule out the goal. Chelsea boss Emma Hayes was left furious with the decisions, claiming her side had been robbed.
It is clear that the introduction of VAR could have prevented these two decisions from occurring, as it is already being used in the men's Champions League. In response to Hayes' comments, UEFA have released a statement saying that they plan to implement VAR in the majority of matches, starting with men's and women's club and national team competitions.
It appears that this incident has prompted UEFA to speed up its introduction, with the UEFA Women's Nations League finals next year likely to the first competition to use VAR. Therefore, it is clear that Chelsea were the unfortunate victims of a poor refereeing decision.
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