NWSL Catching Heat Over Safety Concerns During Challenge Cup Final

Saturday’s final included various moments in which a player’s safety appeared sidelined, in many fans’ opinions.

The North Carolina Courage earned their first Challenge Cup title after beating the Washington Spirit 2–1 on Saturday.

The match made headlines for other reasons, though. Voices around the league were critical of the officiating throughout the match, especially in the second half when various calls were missed in potentially dangerous situations. 

At one point, Spirit midfielder Jordan Baggett was injured and needed a stretcher. The medical crew wasn’t quick enough, so some of the Spirit players ran over to bring the stretcher to their teammate.

Spirit players literally ran over and grabbed the stretcher because they weren’t moving fast enough. This is after players, coaches and refs are whistling, yelling and waving for the medical crew. pic.twitter.com/dr8geInwmN

— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) May 7, 2022

This moment in particular is causing the NWSL to catch plenty of heat due to the safety concerns sparked from the match. Observers were specifically concerned with officials failing to help prevent these injuries and the resulting scary moments on the pitch.

that CBA wasn't signed a second too soon, seeing Debinha angrily whistling and yelling for the stretcher to be faster and Spirit players pushing it is a reminder all the players know it's *their* bodies on the line and they all need and deserve maximum protection

— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) May 7, 2022

Another controversial moment happened when the Spirit’s Sam Staab ran into the Courage’s Kerolin Nicoli, knocking her to the ground as she screamed in pain. No penalty was called on the play, shown below.

Sam Staab with a horrendous tackle in the box... but no PK... again.#NCvWAS | 1 - 1 pic.twitter.com/d0wRQFGLK1

— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) May 7, 2022

idk man the last few minutes just feel like a pretty bang on representation of how the actual #nwsl product gets undermined on a pretty consistent basis but also the players carry the most risk of this very problem

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) May 7, 2022

Me looking for a yellow card 🟨 in this game… pic.twitter.com/9VotgIGIUe

— Crystal Dunn | Soubrier | (@Cdunn19) May 7, 2022

Additionally, the NWSL is being questioned for their scheduling, as the new regular season is already underway and the tournament semifinals were also this week. Saturday’s match marked the two teams’ third match in a week. So, on top of dealing with the rough conditions during Saturday’s match, the players are also dealing with fatigue.

There have been a lot of elements of this Challenge Cup final that pretty clearly illustrate how the #NWSL continues to fail its players.

— Alexander Abnos (@AnAbnos) May 7, 2022

What the heck is going on? This Challenge Cup is too many games in too many days too early in the season.

You literally had players rushing a stretcher on the field. End it. Player safety is the ONLY thing we should be caring about.

— Kelsey Trainor (@ktrain_11) May 7, 2022

One reason this game has kind of fallen apart with the potential injuries is fatigue. Tired players can't be as precise, and that leads to late tackles/rash choices. There's a reason players & coaches didn't want this #NWSLChallengeCup schedule.

— Jason Anderson (@JasonDCsoccer) May 7, 2022

The players in this league deserve better. The scheduling for this challenge cup has created dangerous situations. The reffing has created situations where games get out of control and injuries pile up. Hell, players just had to run a stretcher on. They all deserve better.

— Kansas City Blue Crew⭐️⭐️ (@kcbluecrew) May 7, 2022