CHELSEA VS BARCELONA: Ovrebo comes clean

The 2009 Champions League Semi Final is probably one Chelsea fans would be quick to forget now or would rather wish hadn’t happen, considering the numerous calls that went against them on the night against Barcelona; UEFA’s then favorite team. The man at the helm of affairs that night on the pitch being Norwegian referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo whom Chelsea legend Didier Drogba would surely not forget so soon.

The referee has now come out in the air to admit a fault or two in the match; resigning to the claims Chelsea did deserve a penalty in the controversial Champions League semi-final that has its anniversary on this day in 2009.

Chelsea had initially taken the lead that night through a Michael Essien strike which Barcelona had needed an away goal for to switch things to their favor to force an equalizer as they eyed progression into the final.

Ovrebo swiftly proceeded to become a hate figure for the Chelsea fans after denying the Club side a penalty that would have taken the game away from Barcelona and seen the London side to the final.

Barcelona got the much needed equalizer from Andres Iniesta as the clocks ticked, leaving the fans in Stamford Bridge enraged with the referee’s performance.

Such was the disappointment for the Chelsea fans that 13 years after, the game still continues to be talked about, and now Ovrebo clears the air with his thoughts on that night. The Norwegian spoke to Sportsmail and was quoted as saying, “I’m sure the end of the match would have been much easier for us as a refereeing team if that [Iniesta] goal had not been scored, Chelsea would have gone through to the final and their supporters would have gone to the pub and said, ‘maybe we should have had one or two or three or four or five or six penalties… but it doesn’t matter tonight because we’re through to the final.’” He said, wishing things had gone differently.

“Of course, as a referee you know a goal like that creates more discussion and more reactions and more controversies around the decisions you have already made in the match.” The Norwegian admitted.

Ovrebo had waved away penalty shouts from Florent Malouda, who had been brought down by Dani Alves at the edge of the penalty box, then Didier Drogba, who had been rugby tackled by Eric Abidal.

With the crowd already enraged with his controversial calls, Ovrebo then proceeded to wave off appeals for a handball against Gerard Pique.

In his defense, the Norwegian official admits the atmosphere that night had gotten to him. “It can start to get into your head,” he said. “That’s not easy all the time, but for us it’s about the next situation and you can’t think too much about the situation that passed already. It was important to keep our focus and to continue to stay concentrated and attentive.” He added.

After the game, the referee had been surrounded by a number of enraged Chelsea players who demanded to know why the whistle hadn’t gone for a penalty, with Didier Drogba even quoted to have used verbal slurs targeted at the Referee.

Admitting the players had a point in their claims, Ovrebo says politically, “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.”

The decisions that night have left in many conspiracy theorists the belief that UEFA had a love affair with Spanish teams particularly Barcelona and sometimes Real Madrid in Champions League games, particularly when they faced English sides.