Ovrebo returns to Oslo with conspiracy theories and vitriol in his wake
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Friday May 08 2009
If the best referees go unnoticed, the risk of public ridicule for those who get it wrong has never been higher.
Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo is the latest official to learn this uncomfortable lesson after a series of poor decisions left Chelsea's players, officials and supporters screaming injustice on Wednesday night.
Pursued from the Stamford Bridge pitch by Didier Drogba, harangued by the Ivorian's team-mates in the tunnel and so concerned for his safety that he changed hotels after the game, Ovrebo returned to Oslo with conspiracy theories and vitriol trailing in his wake.
The attack on his integrity was started by Chelsea's players after the game and continued into the blogosphere, where no aspects of his life were off-limits to anonymous hordes hurling insults.
Jose Bosingwa, the Chelsea defender, told Portuguese television Ovrebo was a "thief" and said his decisions "had not been right".
The conspiracy theory was voiced by some of his team-mates in the tunnel, based on the saloon-bar logic that Uefa could not stomach consecutive all-English finals.
Bosingwa retracted his comments yesterday, but they will have done nothing to dampen the vicious commentary that swilled online.
As a practising psychologist Ovrebo is better placed than most to speculate what motivated someone to establish a Facebook group entitled "Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo,"or to post a message wishing him HIV-positive and his three children dead in a car crash.
In a recent interview he described football as "cheap therapy," but said he would retire if his family were affected.
"The line is drawn when your life is threatened. And if it expands to hit my family and friends -- or if my child is bullied at school because his dad is a football referee -- then I will consider whether it is worth continuing."
His insights will not make the abuse easier to stomach, and there will be no comfort in the knowledge that he chose the biggest game of his 17-year career to produce his worst performance.
Ovrebo's performances have attracted criticism before. Manchester United protested that he erroneously awarded a penalty, subsequently missed, against Wes Brown at Old Trafford against Roma in last year's quarter-final.
A more serious error came in Euro 2008 when he ruled that an Italian goal which would have seen them beat Romania was offside. Ovrebo subsequently conceded that he had made a mistake. He did not officiate in another game in the tournament.
He is unlikely to be seen in the Champions League again either, but according to Norwegian referees' convener Rune Pedersen, he will cope.
"We will ask him what support he thinks he might need, but I am sure he will do battle again," Pedersen said. "I have not changed my view that Tom Henning managed the game solidly," he said. "It takes backbone not to blow the whistle unless you are absolutely sure." (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Paul Kelso
