LONDON — Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor criticized refereeing decisions following her team's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium on 24 March 2026. Bompastor said the women's game needs more respect after two Chelsea goals were disallowed during the match.

Referee Alina Pesu disallowed Chelsea's first goal after judging that Veerle Buurman pushed Laia Codina before heading the ball into the net. The video assistant referee reviewed the decision and did not find clear and obvious evidence to overturn the call. Bompastor approached the fourth official to question the decision after the disallowed goal.

"It's really frustrating. It's always more difficult to complain about the referees when you have lost the game, but it's not good enough," said Bompastor. "We need to really find solutions. When you are playing a quarter-final of the Champions League, you need to respect the women's game."

Later in the match, referee Pesu disallowed Kadeisha Buchanan's late effort for a foul on goalkeeper Anneke Borbe. Video replays showed that the decision to rule out Buchanan's effort was correct. After this second disallowed goal, Bompastor kicked a bottle.

"I don't think it's been the first time for us this season in the Champions League. When we played Barcelona, Catarina Macario's goal was not offside," she said. "That changes a lot. I just think they need to be better."

Former England captain Steph Houghton agreed with Bompastor's assessment of the first disallowed goal. "It's outrageous," said Houghton. "I don't understand what VAR is seeing. Once the goalkeeper misses the ball, she just gets higher than Laia Codina and it is so clear to see it should be a goal."

"The referee has to take a breath. She's very quick to blow her whistle and disallow the goal straight away," said Ellen White, former striker. "VAR has looked at it and said she hasn't made an obvious error. I think she has. If she doesn't blow that whistle, then it goes to VAR, and for me, the goal stands."

Bompastor said that when she asked the officials to review their decisions, they responded that they were checking but no changes were made. She said that human errors are more understandable than errors made when VAR is in use and believes VAR is good for the women's game but that officials using it must be the right people to review decisions. The second leg of the quarter-final between Arsenal and Chelsea is scheduled for 1 April 2026.