Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Barcelona was dramatically paused on Thursday night after a sudden power outage brought the game to a standstill in freezing west London conditions.
The match was finely poised and the Blues appeared to be building momentum following Barcelona’s equaliser when communications systems inside the stadium abruptly failed, knocking out VAR and disrupting broadcast coverage.
That blackout left viewers on BBC Two and iPlayer staring at a blank screen accompanied by an apologetic error message: “We are sorry for the break in this programme and are trying to correct the fault.”
The Disney+ stream also cut out, leaving fans watching from home in the dark - both literally and figuratively.
Inside the ground, match officials had no access to VAR or communication tools, forcing referee Jana Adámková to suspend play.
On Radio 5 Live, former Chelsea forward Fran Kirby sympathised with viewers but questioned the decision to stop the match for broadcast issues alone.
“As a player it is a bit strange to see a game stopped because the cameras are not working,” she said.
The BBC displayed the following message during Chelsea's Champions League match with Barcelona
|BBC
“Of course we want people to enjoy it and watch it from home but ultimately the players are on the pitch and you have to let the game go.
"The players won’t want to be standing around on a cold night like this.”
With temperatures hovering around two degrees, players from both sides were left waiting on the pitch for more than five minutes before systems were restored.
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Ellie Carpenter put Chelsea ahead against Barcelona in their Champions League clash
|PA
Play eventually resumed and Barcelona quickly settled, with nine minutes of added time needed to complete the half.
The evening had begun brightly for Chelsea when Ellie Carpenter produced a superb solo goal to put the hosts ahead.
Barcelona hit back through Ewa Pajor, who pounced on a defensive lapse to level the score before the enforced stoppage shifted the rhythm of the match.
Late in the second half, Chelsea thought they had struck a decisive blow when Catarina Macario came off the bench and headed home what looked like a dramatic winner.
VAR, returning to action after its earlier blackout, was required to check the goal and after a long review, it confirmed the decision to rule it out.
Macario was judged to be marginally offside, leaving Chelsea to rue what might have been.
Barcelona fought back to earn a draw against Chelsea in Thursday night's Champions League clash
|PA
Speaking after the game, Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor rued her side's failure to secure victory, admitting she was 'frustrated'.
"I'm really pleased with the performance," said Bompastor.
"The way the players applied the game plan and the mindset coming into the game. I think everyone worked hard, and I think when we are playing at this level, we can put in performances like the one tonight.
"Even when we face strong opponents, we are able to have a good game. So that's really positive in that aspect.
"It's frustrating not to have won the game, especially when you look at the statistics and the number of chances we created in the game tonight. I think we had the opportunities to win the game.
"But I think overall, there are also a lot of positives to take, and we know in these Champions League games and in the important games, we need to be clinical."