Chelsea boss fumes over power outage against Barça
BARCELONA, Spain – Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor criticised the handling of a first-half power outage during her side’s 1-1 Women’s Champions League draw with Barcelona on Wednesday, saying the nine-minute stoppage disrupted the match and fell short of elite competition standards.
Play was halted shortly before halftime after a technical failure caused all broadcast and VAR feeds to go offline, including UEFA’s main review stream. The pause interrupted a period of Chelsea momentum, and Bompastor said the incident raised concerns about match integrity.
“It was really frustrating. We were in a good rhythm, and when something you can’t control stops the game, at this level it’s not good enough,” Bompastor told reporters. “I don’t know if this has ever happened in the men’s game, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”
A generator malfunction powering the technology caused the outage, according to information provided to ESPN.
Chelsea later had a potential winner ruled out when Catarina Macario, introduced late in the second half, scored with her first touch. The goal was disallowed for offside, but Bompastor questioned whether VAR had been fully restored.
“To be honest, I’m not even sure VAR was working in the second half,” she said. “In the first half we had almost a 10-minute break, the TV went off. I think VAR was off, so they didn’t have a screen to check.”
Chelsea remain sixth in the League Phase standings with eight points after four matches, while Barcelona stay top on goal difference.
Bompastor also addressed her decision to leave captain Millie Bright out of the starting lineup, opting instead for Nathalie Björn and Naomi Girma in central defence. The 32-year-old, a long-time starter for club and country, was “frustrated” by the call, the manager said.
“She was not happy, and that’s normal. That’s the reaction I expect,” Bompastor said. “But she understood, and two minutes after the conversation she was already focusing on the team. Even without me saying anything, she always puts the team first.”
The draw keeps Chelsea within reach of the top four, but Bompastor’s post-match remarks underscored broader concerns about officiating infrastructure in UEFA’s flagship women’s competition.
UWCL League Phase table
| GP | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – Barcelona | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 10 |
| 2 – OL Lyonnes | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 3 – Wolfsburg | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 4 – Manchester United | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 – Bayern Munich | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 9 |
| 6 – Chelsea | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 8 |
| 7 – Real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 8 – Juventus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 9 – Atletico Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| 10 – Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 11 – OH Leuven | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 5 |
| 12 – Paris FC | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 5 |
| 13 – Valerenga | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 14 – Twente | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 2 |
| 15 – Benfica | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 1 |
| 16 – Roma | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -9 | 1 |
| 17 – St. Polten | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -15 | 1 |
| 18 – PSG | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -8 | 0 |