EMMA HAYES criticized what she called “the worst decision in the history of the Women’s Champions League” after Chelsea lost to Barcelona.
Kadeisha Buchanan was given her marching orders in the second half of an intense battle with the Blues, who were defeated 2-1 on aggregate at Stamford Bridge.
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The second leg defeat, watched by a record stadium crowd of 39,398, saw the hosts knocked out of the semi-finals for the second year in a row by the Spanish top flight leaders.
It ended their dreams of lifting a Champions League trophy for the first and last time under Hayes, with the Blues boss taking charge of the US women this year.
It also saw hopes of a silver double dashed, with the WSL title remaining their only chance of winning the trophy following defeats in the semi-finals and finals of the FA and Conti Cups.
Buchanan was shown two yellow cards in four minutes by referee Iuliana Demetrescu.
First by a trip to Salma Paralluelo and then by a challenge to Patri Guijarro, with both players fighting for possession of the ball.
While the centre-back received the ball during the second incident, she was given marching orders after Guijarro fell to the pitch clutching his foot.
And she looked dejected as she headed straight down the tunnel after her 59thSecond yellow card of a minute with appeals from his teammates rejected by the referee.
The sending off came after Barça had gone 1-0 up in the first half after Aitana Bonmati’s shot was deflected into the goal by Buchanan.
Hayes said: “They had a strong first half, the deflected goal put them in a good position.
“But in the second half I felt like we were reaching the top, and you could see the combination of the fans and the players pushing us forward, and we felt very confident.
“So when you get such a shocking arbitration decision, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“It’s hard enough when you’re 11, but when you’re 10 it’s virtually impossible.”
Regarding the foul that led to Buchanan’s sending off, Hayes added: “Even the Barcelona players said the referee was helpful to them. I didn’t think it was a foul, much less a yellow card.
“When you lose a game, for us we didn’t feel like we had the opportunity to lose it, that was taken away.
“I was surprised when I saw her selected, she is known for (giving) easy cards. This was probably the worst decision in the history of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Buchanan’s departure was followed by a penalty drama, with the visitors awarded a penalty in the 74th minute.
This came after Bonmati went down in the box following a collision with Blues defenders Ashley Lawrence and Jess Carter.
A VAR check confirmed Demetrescu’s decision to award a penalty scored by Fridolina Rolfo, which sent goalkeeper Hannah Hampton the wrong way before her finish into the bottom corner.
Hayes, who had influential striker Mayra Ramirez absent, said: “I’m devastated for them [the players]we were robbed.
“I genuinely believe we were on top of the game, we had just hit the post, we could feel the momentum going in that direction, but we didn’t get the chance to experience it.
All the talk is about this. Yes, we lost Mayra Ramirez after training, that didn’t help, but you need everything to go your way, two yellow cards, a deflection and a penalty, everything worked out.”
As the game kicked off, the stage was set for what some Chelsea fans hoped would be a fairytale farewell to Hayes at Stamford Bridge in his final appearance as Blues manager on the pitch.
A record crowd of 39,398 turned up to watch the game – the biggest ever for a women’s game at the ground, let alone a Women’s Champions League battle.
The first 20 minutes saw the rivals jostle for control of the ball before Barcelona gained the upper hand in attack, with Aitana Bonmati among their biggest threats.
The Women’s Ballon d’Or winner opened the scoring at 25th minute with her angled shot after a Keira Walsh pass was deflected towards goal.
But instead of letting their heads drop, Chelsea, who were without influential striker Mayra Ramirez, responded brilliantly.
And they had a few chances to equalize.
The crowd roared when Melanie Leupolz hit the post from six yards out in the 31st minute.st minute.
However, that effort would have been without Lauren James being offside.
And Catarina Macario forced a corner with her shot forcing a save from Catalina Coll.
Another big chance came close to half-time, with Nusken almost punishing a sloppy Barça back pass. She passed the ball to James, who somehow couldn’t hit it from close range.
The second half saw Chelsea looking for a draw.
But disaster struck when Buchanan was sent off.
Hayes rolled the dice late, sending forward Aggie Beever-Jones to Leupolz.
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And a triple 84thThe one-minute substitution saw Fran Kirby and Eve Perisset enter the fray alongside captain Millie Bright, who played as a reserve striker.
Chelsea appealed for a pen when Beever-Jones was brought down in the box late in the game. But a VAR check resulted in nothing being awarded.
The visitors resisted to win.
A duel with Lyon or Paris-Saint Germain awaits them in the final in Bilbao, Spain, in May.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
