Former Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo was the man who took charge of the dramatic Champions League semi-final second leg clash between Chelsea and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in May 2009. Following a 0-0 draw in the first leg, Michael Essien put Chelsea ahead in the ninth minute courtesy of an unbelievable left-footed volley. Chelsea then had a series of penalty appeals turned down by Ovrebo, much to the home side’s increasing frustration. Barcelona were reduced to 10 men with 25 minutes left to play when Eric Abidal pulled down Nicolas Anelka, but the hosts knew they needed a second goal to kill off their star-studded opponents. In the 81st minute, boos rang around Stamford Bridge when Ovrebo waved away another penalty appeal following a clear handball inside the box by Gerard Pique.
Then, in stoppage time, Andres Iniesta scored his famous equaliser to leave Barcelona seconds away from the 2009 Champions League final. Chelsea had a late corner and one final opportunity to score the goal to win them the tie. When Michael Ballack hammered the ball towards goal, only to see his shot blocked by the arm of Samuel Eto’o, pandemonium erupted. A furious Ballack chased down Ovrebo, who blew the final whistle shortly afterwards. Chelsea’s devastated players demanded answers, while Didier Drogba screamed down one of Sky Sports’ cameras: “It’s a disgrace! It’s a f****** disgrace!”
"Players make many mistakes, coaches make mistakes, referees make mistakes - that's why we speak about giving them the benefit of the doubt," Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink said in his post-match interview. "But if you have seen three or four situations waved away, then [Ovrebo's performance] was the worst I have seen. The overall feeling is one of being robbed and one of injustice. That's why it was so hot and angry." Drogba was handed a six-match ban - the last two suspended for two years - for his foul-mouthed rant about Ovrebo, while Jose Bosingwa was banned for four games by UEFA for labelling the referee a “thief”. Chelsea, meanwhile, were handed an £85,000 fine for the “improper conduct of their players and the throwing of missiles by their supporters”.
But what happened to Ovrebo after that infamous night in west London? During an interview with Panenka magazine in 2019, Ovrebo admitted: "I wish I had the help of the VAR that day. After the first half, my assistants and I felt that we had control. At the end of the match, however, I did not have that feeling. When I got to the dressing room I thought: 'Okay, Tom Henning, this has not been your best night'." He added: "I must admit that inside I was boiling. It was in the dressing room that I realised how controversial everything had been. In the space of two hours, I went from being a fairly respected referee to becoming the biggest fool in international football. They put us in police escort until we could get a plane and return home. The death threats came more from the frustration of not winning that match and my performance in it, than from the real desire to kill me and my family."
Ovrebo says that night contributed towards the end of his reputation as a top-level referee. "When the Champions League continued in August of 2009, I didn't get the matches at the same standard again," he explained to Goal. "Step-by-step, I got good matches again and, in 2010, we got Bayern Munich versus Fiorentina. But, unfortunately, we missed a clear offside. So, then, you had two matches in which my team and I had not performed very well. After that match I didn't get any more in the Champions League but I continued to referee in the national league in Norway. Unfortunately, I got injured in 2012. I tried to make a comeback but I had to stop in 2013." He went on to become a psychologist after studying the subject while at university in his early 20s. And despite all of the abuse, Ovrebo insists he would still referee the same match again if he could rewind the clock. "My motto in my life is that 'It is better to get bullied than for people to forget you', so I think that the fans can continue bullying me if they want to; for me, that is no problem," he added. "I look back at my matches with great memories. It is no problem if people want to use that match as an example [of bad refereeing]; that's okay with me.”
Source: GiveMeSport
