For nearly a half-hour, no one noticed the problem as Chelsea and Arsenal warmed up for the Women's Super League game, their biggest of the season. Then somebody pointed out to match officials that the two teams had taken the field wearing matching white socks, Forbes reports. The players were sent to their locker rooms while staffers for Arsenal, which has worn red socks for road games before but didn't bring them this time, looked for a solution. Once one was found, the players had to warm up again, and the record 33,000 fans had to wait until the match started 30 minutes late—as did the TV audience. The match had been selected as a showcase by Sky Sports and moved to Friday night to catch a prime-time audience.
Karen Carney, a midfielder who has played for both sides, called the mistake frustrating and embarrassing. "We've waited so long to talk only about football in the women's game," she said. "This is a massive crowd, a massive game," Carney added, per the BBC. The league is the top one in English women's soccer. Football Association rules make clear that teams have to wear colors that distinguish them from the other. So Arsenal employees went to a Chelsea team store and bought a load of black socks, then taped over the Chelsea and Nike logos; Arsenal's uniforms are supplied by Adidas. Chelsea won the game 3-1. Carney said the mix-up was just human error but said, "It does not look good for the game." (More women's soccer stories.)
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