Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has called on the FA to take the women’s game “seriously” in response to the WSL game against Liverpool being postponed after just six minutes.
Arsenal’s trip to Brighton was also postponed although it was the decision to even play the Chelsea vs Liverpool game in the first place that caused the most controversy.
The pitch at Kingsmeadow was deemed unsafe by the referee just six minutes into the game, although Hayes said the action should not have got underway in the first place.
Speaking to BBC, Hayes said the field looked “like an ice rink down the sides” and added to growing calls for undersoil heating to be installed on women’s football pitches.
“It’s not for managers to decide if it’s on – it’s up to the FA and officials,” she said.
“We have to say to ourselves that it’s time for undersoil heating. We’ve got to take our game seriously. Yes, we can have our blowers and pitch tents, but it’s not enough.
“The game should never have started. Everyone wanted to get the game on, but when you have got emotions of teams wanting or not wanting to play, that’s when you need a decision from above. The FA weren’t here – they need to be making the decision.”
According to BBC, the FA said that a decision on whether a pitch is safe to play on is only decided by the match official and not by the league or competing teams.
It did not take long for players to start slipping when action did eventually get underway, prompting the referee to call the game off.
“It wasn’t playable at 9.30am, so they said to give it until 2pm,” Hayes added.
“There was a section that was quite hard, so they put blowers on it. They tested everywhere else and it wasn’t too bad, but as soon as you take the covers off it becomes a different situation.
“On top of that, the temperature hasn’t changed. When the sun rises and you get your feet on the grass, sometimes it can change – but it’s a block underneath and not playable. I saw Niamh Charles slip. I understand; we have to put player safety first.”
But Sunday’s drama needs to be a lesson learned according to Hayes, who urged the FA to consider undersoiling heating to avoid similar issues in the future.
“We’ve made progress with investment into the quality of grasses and surfaces across the league,” she said.
“No game at the top level of the women’s game should be cancelled. We need undersoil heating – we don’t live in Barbados.”
While Hayes and Liverpool manager Matt Beard may be rivals most of the time, they were both in agreement on the fact the game should not have started in the first place.
“Players from both sides have slipped,” Beard said.
“Like I said before, the game should have never gone ahead.”
Sky Sports News reporter Jamie Weir described it as “farcical”, adding: “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
Chelsea and Liverpool players also took to social media to criticise how long it took to come to a decision, with Blues goalkeeper Zecira Musovic calling it a “major joke”.
Chelsea defender Millie Bright tweeted: “On every front today was unacceptable!! We demand more for our game.. DO BETTER. Thank you to all the travelling fans and apologies for today.”
It was not just Chelsea and Liverpool players though, with Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema tweeting it was “lucky no one got injured”.
She added: “Players safety should always come first. Only way to fix this is to demand undersoil heating or playing our games in men’s stadiums. FA and clubs, please do better.”
Teammate Beth Mead said the situation was “not good enough”
Former England and Brighton manager Hope Powell described it as “embarrassing” while in commentary for BBC.
“They should have cancelled it before,” she said.
“The pitch was hard and it was a bit dubious whether it would go ahead or not. But to actually start the game and then five minutes into it realise it was dangerous, [with] too many players slipping, I think is very embarrassing.
“It is not a good look and it’s a shame for everybody here today. This is a worst-case scenario. It’s embarrassing for the league, for the players and everybody involved.”
A spokesperson for the WSL said they “worked hard” with both clubs and match officials to safely play the game as scheduled.
“Following inspections before the match, the pitch was deemed to be playable by the matchday referee,” the statement added.
“However, shortly after kick off, the referee made the decision to abandon the match in order to protect the safety of the players, which is paramount. We sincerely apologise to all fans who travelled to the match. The fixture will be rescheduled in due course.”