'It took quite some attention away from the game,' Arsenal manager laments McCabe flashpoint

The Ireland captain tugged the hair of Alyssa Thompson as the American sped away towards goal.

Ireland’s Katie McCabe acknowledges fans after the game against the Netherlands. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Arsenal manager Renee Slegers has bemoaned Katie McCabe’s hair-pull incident overshadowing their two-leg Women’s Champions League victory over domestic champions Chelsea.

Ireland’s captain was lucky to avoid being sent off at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday having tugged the hair of Alyssa Thompson as the American sped away towards goal.

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor was livid at the lack of action taken by referee Alina Pesu or the failure of VAR to intervene.

She was eventually sent off, citing the moment as the turning point of the tie they were chasing a two-goal deficit in from the first leg. Sjoeke Nusken’s stoppage time goal wasn’t enough.

It seems unlikely that Uefa will impose retrospective action against McCabe ahead of the Gunners’ upcoming semi-final against Lyon.

Should Arsenal prevail, they will progress to the final in Oslo on May 23, when they would defend their crown against either Bayern Munich of the champions they dethroned, Barcelona.

McCabe’s incident has dominated the aftermath of the tie and while Slegers claimed there was no intent by McCabe she admitted a discussion with the Dubliner was arranged the following day.

"Yeah, I’ve seen it and have spoken to Katie today as well,” the Dutch coach said.

“She’s very apologetic about the situation and it’s unfortunate that it’s happened.

"I think it took quite some attention from the game. If you look at the match and the quality of football and all the big and small battles on the pitch across these two games, it was, in my opinion, a great product of women's football."

McCabe, 30, responded to the controversy by providing her input on social media.

"I just want to clarify that I was genuinely reaching for the shirt,” she said on Instagram.

“I wouldn’t ever want to pull someone’s hair. Full respect to Thompson."

McCabe is due to report for international duty on Monday following Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton and Hove Albion. Ireland have a World Cup qualification double-header against Poland, firstly in Gdansk on Tuesday week followed by the rematch at Lansdowne Road on April 18 (3pm).

Poland have one point on the board from the opening two games whereas Ireland have none.