Referee Tom Henning Ovrebo has admitted that Chelsea should have been handed a penalty in a controversial match which he officiated against Barcelona in the Champions League back in 2009. Ovrebo dismissed several penalty claims for Chelsea as Barcelona eventually won the tie over two-legs, progressing to the final. Didier Drogba was also sent off over the two legs, uttering the words 'it's a disgrace' towards the cameras as he was dismissed.
Speaking to Sportsmail, Ovrebo admitted that Chelsea should have had a penalty in the semi-final. He said: "I don't think the Chelsea supporters are correct when they claim four of five penalties, but I think everybody that knows football and the laws of the game knows there should have been a penalty given. That happens, especially before VAR. Sometimes you miss a penalty, sometimes you miss a red card or a crucial decision. And I think everybody that knows football knows there should have been a penalty. They can speculate themselves which one should have been a penalty. I will not give you a correct answer on that because I don't have the correct answer, I just have my perception of it."
The referee continued to state that he was keen to ensure that he did not get 'fooled' by the Chelsea players as he continued to discuss the pressure on him, in charge of the match. "In a match like that when you have so many penalty appeals, sometimes as a referee you get concerned about not being fooled by the team," he continued. "So maybe that could have influenced my perception in a negative way. That could be it. I don't know for sure; I'm just speculating with you. That could be one kind of explanation, that you don't want to seem like a referee that is pressured to give a penalty. So then maybe you perceive the situation more strictly in a way." The former referee finalised by stating that if he had VAR for the clash, some of the calls would have been different and perhaps seen Chelsea advance. "If I had VAR in that match, I'm sure some of the calls would have been different. But I can't go around reflecting on my performance as long as I did my best. I can learn from it and that was maybe the most important thing, but for me I can't go around and regret some of my calls. I made other mistakes during my 40 years as a referee, and I can't regret all of them."
Source: SI