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

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  1. the whole chelsea team is a disgrace,especially the­ shoplifters son.

    From Burt, on Fri 8 May 1:39AM
  2. #664 Cris S, Spot on there. The behaviours of players­ not just on but also off the field have some bearing on­ the behaviours of their fanatical supporters. I­ sympathise with Chelsea but the way Ballack and Drogba­ reacted on the field is very worrying. Saying sorry­ later is a bit too late when the signals have already­ been picked up by the fanatical few. I hope this would­ be a lesson to all soccer players.

    From cokrowinoto, on Fri 8 May 1:36AM
  3. g_blue52, another idiot who knows nothing about­ football. It's thick people like you who prefer­ games to be fixed rather than watch football and enjoy­ a fair game.

    Facts were that Barcelona cheated their­ way to the final, the press accept it was a terrible­ night for the integrity of the game and the reputation­ of referees. People with some brains can see the­ obvious, why can’t you? Are you a bit slow?

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:33AM
  4. The referee was clearly ignoring the rules of the­ game­­ last night. Replays show a number of clear­ penalties­ in­ favour of Chelsea were ignored. These­ are the rules­ of­ the game and it is the referees job­ to uphold the­ rules­ (fouls in the box = penalty hand­ ball in the box­ =­ penalty).

    If the ref doesn't­ do this then there­ is­ no point of having a ref,­ it's a joke! This is­ why­ people are angry,­ because there has been an­ obvious­ case of failing to­ uphold the rules and it­ makes the­ competition a joke.­ The winner will be­ whoever UEFA­ choose it­ seems!

    UEFA feared the­ prospect of another­ all­ English Champions League­ final. So they make sure­­ they do the best to make sure­ it doesn't happen.­­ Something is clearly rotten in­ football at the­ moment,­ and it goes all the way to the­ top. It's­ because­ there is so much money at stake­ now,­ corruption is­ inevitable.

    There is very little­ point­ in the­ Champions League title if you can get to­ the­ final by­ relying on cheating and poor refereeing.

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:29AM
  5. The referee was clearly ignoring the rules of the­ game­­ last night. Replays show a number of clear­ penalties­ in­ favour of Chelsea were ignored. These­ are the rules­ of­ the game and it is the referees job­ to uphold the­ rules­ (fouls in the box = penalty hand­ ball in the box­ =­ penalty).

    If the ref doesn't­ do this then there­ is­ no point of having a ref,­ it's a joke! This is­ why­ people are angry,­ because there has been an­ obvious­ case of failing to­ uphold the rules and it­ makes the­ competition a joke.­ The winner will be­ whoever UEFA­ choose it­ seems!

    UEFA feared the­ prospect of another­ all­ English Champions League­ final. So they make sure­­ they do the best to make sure­ it doesn't happen.­­ Something is clearly rotten in­ football at the­ moment,­ and it goes all the way to the­ top. It's­ because­ there is so much money at stake­ now,­ corruption is­ inevitable.

    There is very little­ point­ in the­ Champions League title if you can get to­ the­ final by­ relying on cheating and poor refereeing.

    From james.kane2007, on Fri 8 May 1:29AM
  6. well sed Gblue 52. justice rarely ever happens in this­ world, its nice to see cheats get wat they deserve tho.­ (sorry frank n co.) Drobas built like a brick @#$%­ house, acts like a baby girl, dummy dropped out of her­ gob! Id like chelsea a lot more if they flogged th­ c**t. Rather lose respectfully than win on account of­ sum cheating ivorian w*nk stain.

    From davidshutt147, on Fri 8 May 1:27AM
  7. They have received no reports of Chelsea fans being­ involved in these activities. I guess that means it­ must be Boca Juniors or Spartak Moscow fans who are­ taking up the Chelsea plight. This entire matter is a­ disgrace. Remember Anders Frisk? A brilliant ref forced­ to retired because of Chelsea supporters. When Drogba­ behaves the way he does, it helps to sanction the­ violent reactions of rogues in the Chelsea fan base.

    From Cris S, on Fri 8 May 1:13AM
  8. i wach that gameand i m fans of different club but­ that what hepend in the fild was sham for refery .in­ my contry where i m living refery disad for score not­ playerin the end the game the fans beat refery they put­ tham in death zone by the way if we are te telling­ the truth chelse was beter than barcelona sorry i was­ hoping that will not hepen not in my contry any more ­ but in the higher position like champions league to­ hapen is very very shame mabe thay dont heve tv or­ did'n record the game

    From nanayx, on Fri 8 May 1:05AM
  9. its a disgrace

    chelsea should be in the final

    From lonlyboy_990, on Fri 8 May 1:00AM
  10. Still can't stop laughing!!! Funny how this dish­­ got served up after the cheatin' Chelsea Scum­­ failed to convince the ref of their ACTING skills!!!!!­­ Maybe if they shut the @#$% up and PLAY FOOTBALL­­ instead of all this foreign diving bull@#$%, then they­­ would have WON the game by SCORING more goals?!?!?­­ Drogba is a disgrace to English football and should be­­ sold to Italy or Spain where he belongs! Ballack needs­­ to have the @#$% kicked out of him! It is a MAN'S­­ GAME and we need to make sure it stays that way!!!!!

    From GeorgeB, on Fri 8 May 12:54AM
  11. I need to find that ref; I owe him a couple of pints!­ After Liv V Chel, I said I would like to see chelsea go­ on and win it, but listening to the whiney b!t$he$­ reminds me of why i dislike CFC; NO CLASS, no history.­ Funny, I haven't heard you complaining about the­ sending off?

    From Martin, on Fri 8 May 12:54AM
  12. chelsea was given opportunities, penalties are not­ claimed, they are awarded.

    From pearsonsoko, on Fri 8 May 12:45AM
  13. you chelsea and english fagsssss, get the facts­ straight. If chelsea was such a better team, and palyed­ better than barca, why didn't they scored more­ goals? Barca was missing Henry, they were missing 3 of­ their best defenders, Puyol, Milito, and Marques, and­ still chelse could not score more than one goal, and­ that goal was lucky from eissen. Plus the fact that­ Barca was a man down and they still managed to score.­ Also, did you forget the match at Camp Nou, when­ ballack got away with the red card, and a penalty was­ not given to Henry, and Barca had 23 shots to 3 shots­ for chelsea, and when Barca fans were complaining, you­ chelsea fans were laughing. Guess what? It's pay­ back. Face it, Barca deserved to win, they played­ better in both legs, they had more possesion and more­ shots and played real football, and not antifootball­ like chelsea did.

    From barca_nr_1, on Fri 8 May 12:43AM
  14. ENTITLED TO MY OPINION

    From the silent assassin, on Fri 8 May 12:37AM
  15. ballack,
    drogba,
    terry,
    alex ,
    is a disgrace,i­ can't believe it

    From Tony, on Fri 8 May 12:33AM
  16. ballack,
    drogba,
    terry,
    alex ,
    is a disgrace,i­ can't believe it

    From Tony, on Fri 8 May 12:30AM
  17. ballack,
    drogba,
    terry,
    alex ,
    is a disgrace,i­ can't believe it

    From Tony, on Fri 8 May 12:30AM
  18. it is the high financial rewards that clubs can get and­ high player bonuses that leads to the kind of reaction­ that we saw last night. Death threats made against a­ UEFA Club official can rebound so severly on a club­ that they may find themselves banned from international­ competition in the future. I think that Drogba and­ Ballack are going to get a ban because of their­ ridiculous conduct, but I also believe that the­ standard of refereeing was lamentable. Where were the­ linesmen ?. Need sideline video replays for fair­ decisions. Chelsea were definitely robbed.

    From JOHN I, on Fri 8 May 12:22AM
  19. so its ok to threaten someone with death or push a­ referee around? everyone who supports any team will­ tell you that massive injustices have been done to them­ at some stage, 'retarded' was one of the better­ (non swearing but i'm not on 100k a week) words i­ could have used

    From russell mansbridge, on Fri 8 May 12:22AM
  20. im with you dude! burn the ref once and for all!
    right­ now, i hope manchester united beat barcelona in the­ finals because barcelona doesnt deserve to be in a­ finals, chelsea does! man utd, do it for chelsea and­ kick barcelona's a**! they dont deserve to win in­ la liga either!

    From OrlandoC, on Fri 8 May 12:21AM
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