Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers calls for VAR in women's game | OneFootball

Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers has called for the introduction of VAR into the women's game after a crucial penalty decision was to blame for their loss to Chelsea at the weekend.

Arsenal all but bid farewell to their Women's Super League (WSL) title hopes after a 1-0 defeat to the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The result marked Slegers' first loss since being at the helm and now sees them ten points adrift of their London rivals.

However, a tight contest was decided in the 84th minute after Chelsea were awarded a penalty kick as a result of a foul from Kim Little on Lauren James. Gunners defender Katie McCabe was shown a red card amidst the scuffle, for reportedly directing abusive language toward referee Emily Heaslip.

Guro Reiten buried the penalty with ease, but Arsenal fans immediately took to social media claiming that Little may have made contact with the ball first.

Speaking after the fame, Slegers called for the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in response to the increasing standards across the WSL.

"The stakes are getting higher in women's football," she said. "I also think it's important that the game is attractive to fans, and VAR slows down the game and gives it more breaks. But, I think with time it will develop and I think we should have it".

Commenting on McCabe's sending off, Slegers confirmed it was caused by "a conversation between Katie [McCabe] and the referee" and that she "hadn't spoke to Katie [McCabe] yet".

"I'm very happy with the run so far not having lost the game, and I think that says something about where we're at as a team," Slegers added. "I just think we played against a top team today, and we played a very tight game, and it was going to go one way or the other. Could have been a 0-0 game as well, or a 1-1 game. So, I think we have a strong enough foundation.

"I think the players feel that as well. Yes this happened, but that that doesn't define us. Of course, I'm very disappointed. I wanted to win today, and I think we were close enough to to get something out of the game, but now we will have to move on."

"I think it was a top game in women's football. So I think overall, if I distance myself from my role, I think that was a good game for women's football.

"I think we play some really good football at times, and what was lacking today was the goals. We created one or two good enough chances to score today, and you're not going to get a lot against Chelsea."