Tom Henning Ovrebo was etched in Chelsea history for those semi-finals in 2009, when FC Barcelona visited Stamford Bridge. A duel plagued by controversial actions that Jose Mourinho He was in charge of remembering in his time as coach of Real Madrid and that now they have come to light again due to some statements by Obrevo himself.
Today, May 6, marks the 13th anniversary of that famous night in which a goal by Andrés Iniesta gave Barcelona the pass to the final, who would end up lifting the Champions League a few days later in Rome. Ovrebo remembers the Albacete’s goal, than in statements offered to Sportsmail. “I’m sure the end of the game would have been easier for us as referees if that goal hadn’t been scored.”has admitted the referee.
“Chelsea would have made it to the final and their fans would have gone to the pub and said: we should have had maybe two or three penalties in our favour… but that doesn’t matter tonight because we made it to the final.”, adds Obrevo, who is still being persecuted for his decisions. “I don’t think Chelsea fans have any reason to claim four or five penalties, but I think everyone knows that football and the laws of the game know that a penalty should have been awarded. [al Chelsea]”.
The former referee still regrets and questions what would have happened to the game if VAR had existed. “This happened, especially before VAR. Sometimes you miss a penalty, sometimes you miss a red card or a crucial decision. And I think that everyone who knows about football knows that he should have awarded a penalty”exposes Ovrebo.
However, the former Norwegian collegiate refused to disclose which was the penalty that should have been indicated in that semifinal. “You can speculate on which of the actions could have been a penalty. I will not give the concrete answer on this because I do not have the correct answer. I just have my perception on this.”
Thus, Stamford Bridge was abuzz and Ovrebo was overwhelmed. “In a match like this when you have a lot of actions that could be a penalty, sometimes you worry about not being cheated by a team. That may have influenced my perception in a negative way. It can get in your head, but it’s important for a referee and his team to pay attention. That’s not easy all the time, we focus on the next situation and you can’t think too much about what’s happened before,” said the former referee.