United States women’s national team and Chelsea forward Alyssa Thompson was emotional following the Blues Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal on Wednesday. In the final moments of the game Thompson was the victim of a hair-pulling incident.
Alyssa Thompson hair pull vs. Arsenal
With Chelsea trailing 3-2 on aggregate, Thompson had the ball in the dying moments of the game. The 21-year-old successfully dribbled around Arsenal’s Katie McCabe, however McCabe then dragged the American to the ground by her hair.
No card was shown to Katie McCabe after she stopped Alyssa Thompson’s run with a hair pull 👀 pic.twitter.com/7JKeHVfXt4
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 1, 2026
Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor was irate with the referee as the incident took place directly in front of her. Bompastor was shown a red card for her protests.
Bompastor said after the game that Thompson was “crying and emotional” after the final whistle.
VAR oddly didn’t intervene or suggest a review despite McCabe’s blatant tug of the hair. Hair-pulling is historically grounds for a red card.
Earlier this season Thompson had her hair pulled during a game against West Ham. The culprit was sent off in that instance, however McCabe escaped with no punishment.
Bompastor was so upset with the incident that she brought a phone with her to the post-game interviews to show the hair-pulling offense on camera.
Sonia Bompastor showing a video of Katie McCabe pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair in her post-match interview.pic.twitter.com/SIoNGk9TiS
— Chelsea Women (@CFC__Women) April 1, 2026
McCabe posted an apology to Thompson on Instagram later on Wednesday night claiming she was only trying to tug the jersey and not the American’s hair.
Katie McCabe via Instagram story after the controversial no-call in Chelsea vs Arsenal's UWCL quarter-final. pic.twitter.com/Hz4T2mryXG
— The Women's Game (@WomensGameMIB) April 1, 2026
Arsenal, the defending champions, advance to the semifinal where they will play the winner of Lyon/Wolfsburg.
