Chelsea's calamity ref has been ditched by FIFA before - 10 things you didn't know about Norwegian o

07 May 2009 10:57
Reffing hell: Henning Ovrebo (centre) reacts to Ballack's protests (left) as Messi looks on[LNB]Last night was not the first time Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo has made a hash of a big match. [LNB]The official in the middle at Stamford Bridge last night, who inexplicably failed to award Chelsea a penalty despite four good appeals, has admitted mistakes before.[LNB]At Euro 2008 Ovrebo, one of 12 referees selected for the tournament, controversially disallowed Luca Toni's goal for Italy against Romania. The game ended 1-1 and only then did the referee say he was 'wrong'.[LNB]The Italian Football Federation, funnily enough, weren't overly impressed and demanded an apology.[LNB]Ovrebo did not officiate in any more matches in the tournament.[LNB]He told Norwegian TV: 'I had a fairly good angle myself and was convinced that it was offside. [LNB]'So I backed up my assistant immediately and thought he was right. [LNB]'But this situation shows how difficult it is when things happen so quickly. [LNB]'I'd loved to have been able to see the situation in slow motion the split second before we made our decision.'[LNB] Whistle-blower: Chelsea captain John Terry (right) remontrates with ref Henning Ovrebo at Stamford Bridge[LNB]What? Pardon? 'I'd loved to have been able to see the situation in slow motion the split second before we made our decision.'[LNB]Oh dear.[LNB]Here's 10 things you didn't know about Chelsea-Barca ref Tom Henning Ovrebo...1. 42-year-old Ovrebo was born in Oslo in June 1966.[LNB]No fan: Italy's Luca Toni[LNB]2. He has been a referee since 1980 and was awarded his FIFA badge in 1994.3. He is a qualified psychologist.4. He enjoys downhill skiing, football, water polo, watching films and reading in his spare time,5. Ovrebo was the referee for the final of 2002 European Under 21 Championships, a 0-0 draw between France and the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic lost 3-1 on penalties after extra-time.6. The Norwegian is on the pre-selected list of referees for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.7. He was the man in the middle for Zenit St Petersburg's 4-0 win against Bayern Munich in the second leg of last year's UEFA Cup semi-final.  Guess who received a yellow card? Bayern (and Italy's) Luca Toni. 8. His first Champions League match was in September 2001, a 1-0 win for Galatasaray against Nantes. 9. Ovrebo has been the referee for 22 matches in Europe's premier club competition. More than half (12) of these games featured teams from England or Scotland. British clubs triumphed on five occasions under the Norwegian's watch (Liverpool beat Bordeaux 1-0 in 2006, Rangers won 3-0 against Lyon in 2007, Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 in 2008 and Man Utd won 1-0 against Roma in the same season).10. Ovrebo refereed the Norwegian Cup final in 1999 between Rosenborg and Brann and again in 2006, this time between Fredrikstad and Sandefjord.[LNB] GRAHAM POLL WEBCHAT LIVE AT 1pm: Were Chelsea robbed? Does Darren Fletcher deserve to have his red card rescinded? GRAHAM POLL: The referee was wrong, but you can't behave like that...Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1: Blue murder at the Bridge as Iniesta strikes lateFOOTBALL'S HEARTBREAKERS - tell us about the day your dreams diedCHELSEA FC

Source: Daily_Mail