Champions League - Chelsea condemn death threats

Eurosport - Fri, 08 May 09:01:00 2009

Chelsea have issued a statement condemning any threats that have been made against referee Tom Henning Ovrebo following his performance in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.

Chelsea's Michael Ballack (R) screams at referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after a possible handball by Barcelona during their Champions League second leg semi-final REUTERS - 0

It has been reported that internet death threats had been made against the Norwegian official and that he had been "smuggled out of the country" under police escort and advised to change hotels.

"Following media reports claiming threats have been made against the referee of last night's game, Chelsea Football Club would like to make clear that it condemns any form of threat against players, officials or supporters," the club said in a statement.

"If provided with proper evidence Chelsea will take the strongest action against any season ticket holders or members who have participated in this activity.

"Everybody connected with Chelsea is very disappointed with the events of last night. However we would stress that we have received no evidence that Chelsea fans are involved in any of the alleged threats reported."

"As a result of these reports we have also been in contact with the police who likewise had not received any complaints."

Chelsea fans were upset Ovrebo did not award them a penalty, despite several strong appeals, during the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge that sent Barcelona into the final on the away goals rule.

Several players, notably striker Didier Drogba, remonstrated furiously with the referee after the tie, which was settled by Andres Iniesta's stoppage-time goal.

Swedish referee Anders Frisk retired after he and his family received death threats following his dismissal of Drogba against the same opponents in the 2005 Champions League.

Ovrebo told Aftenposten that he had been informed by UEFA not to make any comment on the furore.

"Because of the circumstances after the match, Uefa has asked me not to comment to the press," Ovrebo said.

Former international referee Graham Poll commented: "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.

"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."

Reuters

Comment 652 - 671 of 711

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  1. The referee who controled chelsea match against Barcena­ was biased
    ISAAC TOO

    From Isaac, on Fri 8 May 6:06AM

  2. Hi all. please get the facts right!!! Mr. Overbore as­ you might have realized professionally is a­ psychiatrist. I am a doctor myself and the trend in his­ profession is the same all over these characters­ mostly adapt behaviors of their clients or patients.­ this guy is a psych by trend track his records UEFA­ please. all the time in the field for 99 minutes he­ imagined the blues were victims. tell me guys!!!!

    From stvnyagaka, on Fri 8 May 6:04AM

  3. and they say scousers are thugs!!

    From c, on Fri 8 May 5:28AM

  4. tv replays and second ruling,like rugby should­ immediately be put in place,the question must be­ "why this has not been done already"?.

    From farsical, on Fri 8 May 5:20AM

  5. bunch of west end whinging poms.. you lost just like­ last year. maybe if your team wasn't comprised of a­ group of overpaid hired guns you would have the­ neccessary spirit to win an important game once in­ awhile..

    From S., on Fri 8 May 5:19AM

  6. if you look to chelsea history then its obvious that­­ they are sore loosers. Have they ever, ever accepted­­ defeat gracefully?Have they ever admitted that the­­ other team was better? The answer is NEVER!!!!!!Its­­ always the refree, the pitch, the Ufea conspiracy bla­­ bla bla. They played 180 minutes of football relaying­­ on long balls,counter attacks and physical bullying­ and­ they paid the price.Now its time for them to watch­ the­ two best teams on the planet and learn the­ valuable­ footballing lesson.

    From babara, on Fri 8 May 4:44AM

  7. The Chelsea Barrca game was a discrace Drogba­ unfortunatly got this correct from the game i watched. ­ either the ref is incompetent does not have a full­ understanding of the rules or corruption (match fixing)­ is taking place. It does appear to be a case of match­ fixing as the linesman seem to be involved to. 1 or 2­ mistakes can be error but this ref repeatedly changed­ the rules to influence the outcome to the extent it­ became comical. It is sad to see corruption take over­ the sport but i suppose with so much money at stake it­ is going to happen. It can easily be avoided by using­ TV replays. It is clear why UEFA always rejected this­ option so very very clear. The real losers on that­ night are UEFA clearly caught with there pants down.­
    The EPL teams need to insist that TV replays are used­ for refereeing discussions or just walk away from a­ tournament that is has become a joke

    From Tim B, on Fri 8 May 4:26AM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Chelsea - suck it up! Bottom line you are not that­ good, and you are blind with the fury. You were not­ good enough in Barcelona and you were not good enough­ yesterday - that was not a red card. Chelsea players -­ most of you are a disgrace to football!!! Abramovic­ spent some serious money which you have pocketed, but­ time and time again you have not delivered. Blame the­ ref all you want (he is a disgrace in his own right)­ but come on Ballack, you think you are great??? O yeah,­ you are, fighting Drogba over free kicks.

    From CoolVybz, on Fri 8 May 4:09AM

  9. to say uefa is anti premiership is so untrue. because­ they change the rule in 2005 just to make sure­ liverpool enter the champions league.

    From jabir, on Fri 8 May 3:34AM

  10. death threat is really taking it too far but that ref­ was a disgace. need to be a farmer or something being a­ ref is too hard for him.

    From dercute, on Fri 8 May 3:31AM

  11. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:19AM

  12. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:19AM

  13. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:19AM

  14. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:19AM

  15. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:18AM

  16. i KILL some 1 n apologise is OK?

    don be fool by­­ drogba..if other player can accept thire diffit y he­­ cant..end of the day its just a game.

    Eg: liverpool­ vs­ ac milan final...dudek come out of the line to­ save­ penalty..and ac milan don care bout that...
    cos­ they r­ man enof to take the blame that the lost is due­ to they­ own mistake for not holding thier lead in the­­ game...
    all english team PLEASE for 1 time be more­­ responsible.. don put the blame on others.

    BEFORE C­­ OTHERS MOLE IN THEIR FACE, C YOURS FIRST.

    From gab, on Fri 8 May 3:18AM

  17. i am a journalism student and often do sports as part­ of my course work. football has changed so much over­ the years, and one of those changes is the amount of­ technology we use when we transmit a game, all the­ cameras and editing equipment , is simply quite­ amazing. but why dont we use this for the good of the­ game as well? referees make mistakes but they are only­ humans, so why dont we give them some help and let them­ watch the replays so they can make a fair desicion?­ C'mon FIFA fair play remember?

    From javier2_shr, on Fri 8 May 3:11AM

  18. "you chelsea and english fagsssss, get the facts­­­ straight."

    Yep, great argument Spanish r e t a r­­ d. You know nothing about football, Barcelona will­­ always be remembered as the Cheats of Europe, not the­­ Champions. To be true Champions you have to play­­ fairly, Barcelona do not understand this concept!

    Ps,­­ I am betting Manu will wipe the floor with your,­­ cheating, diving, injury faking team in the final,­­ unless you have bribed this referee too!

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:44AM

  19. jerzymoo, keep trying thicko. You might make someone­ laugh next time...

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:41AM

  20. pearsonsoko, yep penalties are awarded for cheating!­ The footage shows 4 clear penalty decisions were­ ignored. Chelsea suffered due to a bending of the rules­ by a bent ref.

    What is the point of the penalties rule­ to punish cheating if the referee can decide to ignore­ the cheating? One man changed the whole nature of the­ game, this is why we need to drag football into the­ 21st century and make sure that one referee cannot­ influence the game alone.

    As it stands at the moment­ the game is open to abuse and the temptation to accept­ bribes is obviously having an effect!

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:41AM
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