Manchester City want talks with FA over standards in women's game

Manchester City are seeking discussions with the Football Association regarding standards in the women's game after an ambulance took over an hour to treat striker Pauline Bremer for a broken leg in the Women's Super League clash at Everton on Saturday, Goal understands.

As well as the fact that no ambulance was immediately available - a basic requirement for the professional men's game - there is also controversy surrounding the plastic pitch at Everton's Select Security Stadium in Widnes.

Germany striker Bremer broke her leg in a challenge with Everton's Gabrielle George, leading to one of her team-mates throwing up on the pitch.

Yet there was no ambulance on the scene and Bremer was only treated an hour later, and only once players and staff from both sides had carried her from the pitch on a stretcher.

Men's Premier League and Football League games are not allowed to go ahead unless there are two ambulances at the stadium on a match day - one for players and one for fans.

Yet there is no such stipulation for women's matches, and City officials now want discussions with the FA about improving standards at WSL games.

Former City defender Lucy Bronze posted a series of tweets criticising "the league in general" following the incident, with the pitch at the Select Security Stadium also coming under fire for how the ball bounces.

In tweets posted on Saturday evening, Bronze, who played for English clubs for 10 years before joining Lyon Feminin in the summer, said: "the pitch is awful!! Big factor in the injury, bounce of the ball is dreadful."

The England international added: "the league [is] going bigger and full time?? Yet can't get the standard of refs, facilities or an ambulance pitch side... priorities??"

Goal has learned that many of Bronze's former team-mates at City feel similarly about the situation and the club contacted the footballing authorities on Monday to express their concerns.

The FA have confirmed that they will discuss the issues once they receive City's written observations from the match and after Everton have been consulted.

Everton boss Andy Spence also posted on Twitter over the weekend, insisting the playing surface was not to blame for Bremer's injury.

After defending George's role in Bremer's injury, he added: "Fact Number 2 - the pitch played NO role in this injury. This was purely a contact injury as a result of two players challenging - the surface is totally irrelevent in relation to this injury."

When Spence's tweet was put to Bronze, she maintained: "...the bounce of the ball is dreadful on that pitch too... having also played on it for years... I never blamed anyone/anything??"