Lotte Wubben-Moy makes classy gesture as postponements cause WSL chaos

Arsenal star Lotte Wubben-Moy repaid disappointed fans with a brilliant act of kindness after a series of postponements rocked the Women’s Super League this weekend.

The cold weather has deeply affected fixtures in the WSL, with frozen pitches prompting multiple cancellations.

For instance, Brighton’s game at home to title-chasing Arsenal could not go ahead. Elsewhere, an unsafe pitch also prevented Spurs and Leicester from playing.

Most shockingly, though, Liverpool and Chelsea’s Sunday lunchtime clash was abandoned after just six minutes. This surprising turn of events led to heavy criticism from both players and pundits.

However, through the cold came a heartwarming moment from elsewhere in the league.

Lotte Wubben-Moy treats travelling fans from her own pocket

Arsenal defender Wubben-Moy wanted to do something for the Gunners fans who had made the trip for their cancelled away fixture. So, she informed supporters of a kind gesture that they could enjoy.

“To anyone at the New Moon Pub in Crawley… I have put some money behind the bar for you all,” wrote the Lioness via Twitter.

“Get cranberry juice and crisps on me. Enjoy the men’s game.

“Sorry about our postponed game,” she added. “Changes need to be made – they will be made. In the meantime, stay hydrated.”

The very grateful supporters at the New Moon Pub made sure to thank Wubben-Moy for her generosity. Although, it must be said that it didn’t look like many cranberry juices were being drunk.

Nevertheless, her thoughtful gesture was a bright spot on what was a frustrating day for the WSL.

Postponements prompt calls for change in WSL

Most angered by the circumstances surrounding the abandonment between Liverpool and Chelsea were the managers, Emma Hayes and Matt Beard.

The Chelsea vs Liverpool match, which was live on the BBC, stopped after just six minutes.

Per Sky Sports, officials had deemed the pitch at Kingsmeadow as okay prior to kick-off. However, after a few falls and a handful of minutes, the referee called the game off.

Speaking after the postponement, Hayes called on the WSL and FA to be better.

“You could see from the opening minutes, it was like an ice rink,” fumed Hayes on BBC2. “Matt Beard is upset it even got to that point – and he’s right. Because it’s not for managers to decide that, it’s for the FA and officials to decide.”  

The Chelsea boss then said that the WSL needed to make changes quickly to avoid postponements like this.

“We have to have undersoil heating if we’re going to take our game seriously,” she added. “Yes we can have blowers and pitch tents, but it’s not going to be enough.

“We’ve made progress and investment has gone into the quality of the surfaces across the league. The next step is undersoil heating. No game in the women’s game top level should be cancelled. End of subject – we need undersoil heating everywhere. We don’t live in Barbados!”

Hayes also called on the FA to be present at WSL matches in order to make independent decisions.

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Beard was unimpressed at the disregard for player safety.

“They’ve put players at risk”

“Whoever made the decision to put the game on, they’ve put players at risk today,” said Beard, via BBC Sport. “At the end of the day, the game should not have been played. He [the referee] eventually made the right decision, and that’s that.

“It should have been called off at 09:30 when the pitch inspection said it wasn’t playable. I’m just gutted for our fans because they’ve set off at five o’clock this morning to come down.”

The date for the re-scheduled clash between Chelsea and Liverpool is still currently unknown.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@lottewubbenmoy