Weekend Football

08 May 2009

by Jerrad Peters

Ovrebo disaster leaves everyone looking bad

"A football game is a cheap therapy for the audience," remarked Tom Henning Ovrebo some time ago. "They can scream and be angry. It is a group therapy in a big volume."

Ovrebo knows all about therapy. He's a psychologist, after all, and operates a practice in Oslo. He also knows about screaming players and angry fans. He came face to face with both after his shambolic refereeing performance in the second leg of the Champions' League semifinal between Chelsea and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

By now, Ovrebo's controversial decisions have been examined and micro-analyzed by everyone who watched the 1-1 draw that put Barcelona into the final. That he made a handful of crucial errors is all but a universal consensus, Graham Poll notwithstanding. (Poll is never more than three yellow cards away from laughable, anyway.)

Death threats

Two hours after he blew the final whistle on Chelsea's European dream, Ovrebo was smuggled out of Stamford Bridge in a black Mercedes and taken to an unknown, secure location. Concerned over his security, UEFA had quickly arranged a safe house for the 42-year-old Norwegian, unwilling to risk the wrath of the furious mob expected to congregate at Ovrebo's posh hotel in Holland Park.

The governing body similarly changed the 42-year-old's flight out of London. He had been scheduled to return to Norway at 7:20am, but departed Heathrow later in the day.

Upon arriving in Oslo, his office was flooded with telephone calls from angry Chelsea supporters. He subsequently booked a few days vacation and is thought to be relaxing on his boat. As a result, he may or may not be aware of the death threats that have surfaced over the past few days.

A handful of Facebook campaigns are openly advocating for his demise. One site, entitled Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo, proclaims its dedication "to the hunt for (and brutal murder of) the second-leg Champions League ref of Chelsea and Barcelona." Another site states that the Norwegian "needs to be shot in the head."

This isn't the first time that Chelsea supporters have issued death threats against an official following a Champions' League encounter with Barcelona. Four years ago, Swedish referee Anders Frisk resigned after receiving similar threats on his safety.

After Didier Drogba from the first leg of a Round of 16 match at the Nou Camp, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho charged that Frisk had invited Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard into his dressing room during half time. The accusation was later proven false, but Frisk stayed in retirement.

Conspiracy theories

It's not known whether Wednesday's performance—and the resulting threats—will affect Ovrebo's officiating future. However, he may have an entirely separate category of allegations to contend with when he chooses to dock his boat and return home.

Chelsea right back Jose Bosingwa is of the belief that Ovrebo had been instructed by UEFA to deliver a favorable result. UEFA president Michel Platini has been outspoken in his disdain for English football, previously voicing his hope that the final in Rome on May 27 would not feature a pair of English sides.

"This referee was under orders," said Bosingwa. "I do not know if he is a referee or a thief."

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink did not go as far as his player, but he did state that "Consiracy is a very tough word, and if there is, you have to prove it. I can only mention what I see."

What the Dutchman saw was the "worst" refereeing performance of his lifetime. "You have sometimes to give the benefit of the doubt to the referee," he remarked. "But if you have three or four situations in sequence…it is the worst I have seen."

Compounding the allegations of irregularities is the test-page of UEFA's website report of the match. The page was produced several hours ahead of kick-off, yet showed a 1-1 score and a late Barcelona equalizer. It also included bookings for Drogba, Michael Ballack and Alex, all of whom were shown yellow cards.

Make of it what you will, but none of this looks good on UEFA. At best, they employed an incompetent official who seriously botched a performance at the highest level. At the very worst, they arranged a preferable result ahead of time. Here's hoping it's the former explanation.

For what it's worth, many Norwegian football fans were not at all surprised by Wednesday's events. They're used to these types of performances from Ovrebo, and have even composed a song to be sung when he oversees domestic matches. "Mer hur enn hyerne—You have more hair than brains." Tom Henning Ovrebo is bald.

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