Sonia Bompastor has claimed the eight-minute delay caused by a technical fault during Chelsea's 1-1 draw against Barcelona was "not good enough". The French manager fumed during her post-match press conference, claiming the problem caused her side to lose momentum, and that she believed the VAR was not used to rule out Catarina Macario's disallowed winner.
Bompastor left angry by delay at Stamford Bridge
The game was paused shortly before half-time, as all streams and video feeds, including the footage used by UEFA official for VAR were not working. reports that generators which power the technology went down, causing the fault.
Bompastor claimed the delay caused her side to lose momentum, before also alleging that Macario's effort which came just seconds after she entered the game as a second half substitute, was ruled out without the use of VAR.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportBompastor: 'It's not good enough at this level'
Speaking at her post-match press conference, Bompastor said: "It was really frustrating, we were in a really good momentum, when this comes from something you can't control, I think, at this level, it's not good enough.
"I don't know if this has happened in the men's game but that's the first time I've seen that.
"To be honest with you I'm not even sure if the VAR was on in the second half. As you could see, in the first half we had almost a 10-minute break, the TV went off.
"It's something I didn't really like because we were in a really good momentum and when you have to stop the players, I think it's not good enough at this level. Maybe it's something no one can control. In the second half I'm not even sure the VAR was on.
"I think the VAR was off so they didn't have any screen to check the VAR so I think this was the reason why."
Blues boss proud of Chelsea performance
While she was clearly angry with proceedings at Stamford Bridge, Bompastor also spoke glowingly about her players' efforts.
Chelsea took the lead in a pulsating encounter as full-back Ellie Carpenter unleashed a thunderous finish in the 16th minute. Barcelona found a reply just eight minutes later, when Ewa Pajor powered home a close-range effort after the Blues failed to clear a corner.
Macario's disallowed effort would have given the Blues a well deserved victory over a side that just six months ago, beat them 8-2 over two legs in last season's Women's Champions League semi-finals. Bompastor urged her side to take confidence from their performance.
"I think we were the better team tonight, we had a really good performance and created a lot of opportunities", Bompastor said. "We scored a great goal. I'm happy but frustrated because we could have won the game.
"Any time we play with this mindset and mentality, the players need to now how good we can be. We played against a strong opponent, everybody knows Barcelona's qualities. To be able to have this performance against them was really positive.
"The team need to be proud of the performance today, but also take belief and confidence from this performance."
Getty Images SportChelsea push for top-four finish
This performance will give Bompastor's side confidence in their push for automatic qualification for the quarterfinals of the competition. The top four sides in the league stage progress to the final eight, with the fifth to 12th-placed sides will face a play-off round.
Chelsea currently sit in sixth, with two games left to play. On December 10, they host Roma before facing a tricky away assignment against Wolfsburg. The two-time European champions currently sit in third in the league table,