Emma Hayes calls for 'all in or all out' VAR after Chelsea dumped out of FA Cup

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has reiterated her stance on the need for consistency in the use of VAR technology following her team's 'disappointing' 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Hayes expressed frustration after Chelsea's experience with VAR in the League Cup final against Arsenal, where a goal was disallowed due to a handball, leading to a 1-0 loss in extra time. Despite VAR being used in that match, it was notably absent during the FA Cup semi-finals.

The Women's Super League currently does not implement VAR in league games, and its application varies in European and domestic cup competitions, depending on the facilities at each stadium.

During the semi-final clash with United, Chelsea were seemingly denied two penalties in the second half as they tried to claw back from an early two-goal deficit. The first incident involved a potential handball by United's Katie Zelem, while the second saw Niamh Charles possibly fouled by Williams.

In her post-match comments, Hayes highlighted the lack of VAR and shared a conversation with Niamh Charles, who was bewildered at the decision not to award a penalty. Hayes said, «Niamh [Charles] said to me, 'how could they not think it was a penalty',» and added, «I just can't see how they don't give those penalties.», reports the Mirror.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has reiterated her call for consistent use of technology in football, expressing frustration over the inconsistent application of VAR: «I've said it thousands of times, we have to have technology in the game. We had VAR [video assistant referees] for the [League Cup] final, not here and then it is in another final in the FA Cup.»

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