Chelsea v Barcelona: Uefa dismiss conspiracy theory over Norwegian referee

07 May 2009 11:58
Andres Iniesta's late goal gave the Spanish league leaders a 1-1 draw and victory on the away goals rule, but Chelsea were sickened by a number of decisions by Tom Henning Ovrebo. The Norwegian offical today returned home following a storm of protest and angry scenes at Stamford Bridge, while Barcelona celebrated their progress to the final against Manchester United. [LNB]Taylor dismissed suggestions of a conspiracy to stop the dominance of English clubs and avoid a second successive all-Premier League Champions League final, United having beaten Chelsea on penalties in last year's Moscow final. [LNB] Related ArticlesGreat conspiracy theoriesDrogba's TV outburstNorwegian referee not novice Chelsea claimRef's semi-final meltdownInjustice will sicken ChelseaWhy do Sky think we're Chelsea fans? "If anything it's a media conspiracy against Uefa," said Taylor, a former chief executive of the Scottish Football Association. "It does make me angry. It really annoys me because it's a load of rubbish." [LNB]Ovrebo was targeted by Chelsea players – most notably Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack – who confronted the referee, with Drogba caught on camera hurling a tirade of abuse in the 42-year-old's direction, calling him "a f*****g disgrace". [LNB]The animosity was such that police reportedly grew concerned about Ovrebo's safety and, according to former referee Graham Poll, were forced to change his hotel before organising a secret exit from the country. [LNB]Poll told BBC Radio Four: 'This morning he's being smuggled out of our country under police escort – this is a referee of a football match. That is a disgrace. [LNB]'When he booked in a hotel they had to change the hotel he was staying at because of the fear that maybe fans would find him. [LNB]'When you see players acting like that, fans are called fans because they are fanatics – they may feel it's time to take action themselves.' [LNB]The Metropolitan Police, however, said they were not aware of any specific death threats against the referee, and insisted that they had not provided an escort to the airport. [LNB]A police spokesman confirmed that a police car did escort the referee to his hotel from Stamford Bridge last night, but officers did not advise him to change his accommodation plans. The decision to change hotels was taken by the Uefa referees team. [LNB]According to the London Evening Standard, officers in Ovrebo's home city of Oslo were investigating threats made on the internet towards the referee, with message boards displaying his home address, including warnings that fans will 'hunt him' and 'kill him'. [LNB]An Oslo police spokesman said: 'We are watching closely what is being posted on the internet. Anything we believe would threaten his personal safety will be taken seriously.' [LNB]The alleged threats echoed the campaign of intimidation suffered by Anders Frisk, the Swedish referee who officiated Barcelona's 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Nou Camp in February 2005. Frish stood down from refereeing soon after and at the time said: "I have been subjected to things that I couldn't even imagine. [LNB] "I love to referee and I have done it since 1978, but what has happened to me means it is not worth continuing. I won't ever go out on a football pitch again. I am too scared. It is not worth it. Unfortunately that is the way football looks in 2005. I've had enough. I don't know if I even dare let my kids go to the post office." [LNB]Chelsea today released a statement condemning "any form of threat against players, officials or supporters." The statement added: "If provided with proper evidence Chelsea will take the strongest action against any season ticket holders or members who have participated in this activity." [LNB]Uefa have been criticised for putting Ovrebo in charge of such an important match, especially as he has previously made mistakes in a big game. [LNB]At Euro 2008 he refereed Italy's 1-1 draw with Romania, awarding the Romanians a dubious penalty and incorrectly ruling out an Italian goal. After the match, he apologised for his mistakes and did not take charge of another game during the competition. [LNB]John Terry and Guus Hiddink were both infuriated that Ovrebo had been allowed to officiate last night's encounter, with Terry saying "Why did we get a referee who has officiated in 10 games in the Champions League in his career? To be given the Champions League semi-final, that's not good enough." [LNB]Hiddink was equally scathing, adding: "If you've seen the three or four (penalty) situations waved away, this is the worst refereeing performance I've ever seen." [LNB]The Norwegian football federation, meanwhile, have defended Ovrebo and say both he and his linesmen need not worry about their careers, despite Chelsea's outrage. [LNB]Rune Pedersen said: "Naturally we must have respect for the fact that there can be decisions that are debatable, but the way they carried out the game right to the end I believe was a show of strength. [LNB] "I don't think that some questionable situations would mean that they don't get any more assignments." [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph