Chelsea v Barcelona: Norwegian referee not the novice John Terry claims

07 May 2009 08:54
And though Ovrebo clearly made serious mistakes - against both sides - at Stamford Bridge, John Terry's assertion about the referee's experience are inaccurate. [LNB]"Why did we get a referee who has officiated in 10 games in the Champions League in his career?' said Terry after angrily confronting Ovrebo. But in fact, last night's game was the official's 22nd in the Champions League. [LNB] Related ArticlesChelsea vent fury at refereeGrateful Barca have final sayDaily Bung: Drogba and Ballack go out in styleChelsea v Barcelona: Man markingChelsea v Barcelona: ReactionChelsea v Barcelona: Didier Drogba says sorry but career under threatHe has also refereed at Euro 2008, and is on the list for next summer's Fifa World Cup. A psychologist by profession, Uefa's website describes him as a 'fan of motorcycling and boating'. [LNB]Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp claimed Ovrebo's nationality meant he should not have been selected for such a high-profile match. [LNB]"How many big games has he reffed in Norway?" asked Redknapp. "I don't know why we can't have the best ref from Germany or Italy."[LNB]It is not unusual, however, for elite referees to come from countries with weaker domestic leagues. [LNB]Lubos Michel, from Slovakia, was in charge of last season's Champions League final, while Massimo Busacca, of Switzerland officiated in the semi-final second-leg between Barcelona and Manchester United last season. [LNB]Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba were both cautioned for berating Ovrebo on the pitch, but captain Terry defended the actions of his team-mates. [LNB]"We did exactly what we needed to do," Terry said. "Not one player made one mistake in the two legs. The referee has made big errors and now we're out. It's a big game with big players and he simply wasn't good enough. [LNB]"The word conspiracy is maybe the wrong one," he added. "It's difficult when players are so high on emotion after a game. [LNB]"However, people are saying we shouldn't have reacted the way we did. [LNB]"But the fact is, six decisions went against us in front of 40,000 people. And for the ref to not give one of them is unusual. [LNB]"So it's not surprising for us to come off the field and show that emotion.'[LNB]Champions League games refereed by Tom Henning Ovrebo Nantes 0 - 1 Galatasaray 26-09-2001 Feyenoord 0 - 0 Dynamo Kiev 01-10-2002 Arsenal 0 - 0 PSV Eindhoven 12-11-2002 Milan 0 - 1 FC Bruges 22-10-2003 Everton 1 - 2 Villarreal 09-08-2005 B Munich 1 - 0 FC Bruges 27-09-2005 Porto 0 - 0 CSKA Moscow 13-09-2006 Bordeaux 0 - 1 Liverpool 18-10-2006 Lille 2 - 2 Anderlecht 21-11-2006 PSV Eindhoven 1 - 0 Arsenal 20-02-2007 Lyon 0 - 3 Rangers 02-10-2007 Real Madrid 4 - 2 Olympiakos 24-10-2007 Milan 1 - 0 Celtic 04-12-2007 Inter 0 - 1 Liverpool 11-03-2008 Man Utd 1 - 0 Roma 09-04-2008 Standard Liege 0 - 0 Liverpool 13-08-2008 Atl Madrid 2 - 1 Marseille 01-10-2008 Celtic 1 - 1 Man Utd 05-11-2008 Inter 0 - 1 Panathinaikos 26-11-2008 Barcelona 5 - 2 Lyon 11-03-2009 Villarreal 1 - 1 Arsenal 07-04-2009 Chelsea 1 - 1 Barcelona 06-05-2009 [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph