Arsenal: Fans livid Leah Williamson wasn't sent off for elbowing Man City star | OneFootball

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·9 February 2023

Arsenal: Fans livid Leah Williamson wasn't sent off for elbowing Man City star

Article image:Arsenal: Fans livid Leah Williamson wasn't sent off for elbowing Man City star

Arsenal scraped past Man City to reach the Continental League Cup final, but Leah Williamson may consider herself lucky to have stayed on the field.

At one stage in the second half, the Lionesses skipper looked to have elbowed England teammate Lauren Hemp in the face but walked away from the incident without even a caution.


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While it’s hard to say if it was deliberate, replays of the foul certainly don’t paint Williamson in the best of lights and a number of fans have emphasised their fury that the defender avoided harsher punishment.

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What happened with Williamson and Hemp?

With the scores locked at 0-0, Hemp, renowned for her speed and exquisite dribbling, had the ball on the left touchline, with Williamson closing her down.

Instead of continuing down the line, Hemp cut back and appeared to have got the better of the Arsenal star, only for Williamson to stick out her elbow and send Hemp crashing to the floor.

Williamson professed her innocence afterwards and the referee evidently agreed with the Gunners star as she kept her cards in her pocket.

Check out the incident for yourselves below:

Fans react to Williamson’s elbow

A number of people took to social media to express their shock that Williamson wasn’t sent off.

“Nah how’s that not a red?”, wrote one Twitter user.

“Mate, that’s an assault” stressed another.

A third added: “Even I, a Leah Williamson apologist, recognise that she should have got a red for that elbow.”

However, others jumped to Williamson’s defence and claimed there was no way she’d deliberately elbow her England teammate.

“We can rest assured Williamson would not elbow her national teammate in the face intentionally,” said one fan.

Stina Blackstenius’ goal the difference

With both sides going well in the Women's Super League at present, this was a match that promised to deliver an end-to-end battle.

And though there was an absence of goals, it was nonetheless an absorbing contest, which went down to the wire.

In the end, Swedish star Blackstenius scored the winner in extra time to send Jonas Eidevall’s side through.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: Stina Blackstenius of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's seventh goal during the Vitality Women's FA Cup Fourth Round match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Meadow Park on January 29, 2023 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

City were on a 16-match unbeaten streak heading into the match but failed to be clinical in front of goal and will rue a number of missed chances.

Arsenal, meanwhile, remain on course for their first League Cup trophy since 2018 and will play either Chelsea or West Ham in the final at Selhurst Park.

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