An
evening which promised so much for Chelsea in their quest for an elusive
Champions League title turned into a night of bitter recriminations at
Stamford Bridge.
On May 6, 2009, boos rained down from the stands as a furious Didier Drogba,
dressed in flip-flops, was kept apart from the protagonist.
The man in the eye of the storm, Tom Henning Ovrebo, turned down no fewer
than four penalty appeals as Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions
League by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.
How we reported on night of high drama
Such was the level of anger from Chelsea supporters towards the match
officials, Ovrebo had to change hotels after the game.
The Norwegian received death threats and admitted fears for his own safety
in the days immediately after Chelsea's exit at the semi-final stage, 12
months on from the penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in Moscow.
Michael Essien had given the Blues an early lead, and things got even better
for Guus Hiddink's side when Eric Abidal was sent off with 24 minutes
remaining.
By then, Chelsea felt they ought to have been out of sight, with the most
blatant of their penalty appeals coming when Ovrebo failed to see a handball
by Gerard Pique inside the box.
His decision to wave away the protests allowed Andres Iniesta to strike a
late equaliser that put Guardiola's Barcelona through to the Champions
League final on away goals after the two sides played out a 0-0 draw in the
first leg at the Nou Camp.
For a fourth time in six years, Chelsea exited Europe's premier cup
competition at the semi-final stage. After Luis Garcia's ghost goal, a
shootout defeat to Liverpool and the surprise loss to Monaco, for some, it
was too much to bear.
What left Chelsea fans so incensed?
INCIDENT: Barcelona full-back Dani Alves catches Florent Malouda inside the
box after 23 minutes.
OVREBO'S VERDICT: No penalty. Ovrebo awards Chelsea a free-kick just outside
the area.
INCIDENT: Three minutes later, Eric Abidal holds Didier Drogba back inside
the box, but Ovrebo fails to see the shirt-tugging offence.
OVREBO'S VERDICT: Play on. Ovrebo ignores Drogba's claims - to the obvious
disgust of the Chelsea striker.
INCIDENT: The most controversial - 10 minutes from time. The third offence
sees Gerard Pique handle inside the box under pressure from Nicolas Anelka,
but Ovrebo's decision to ignore the protests leaves Chelsea players and fans
speaking of a conspiracy against them.
OVREBO'S VERDICT: Referee conspiracy or just plain ineptitude? Inexplicably
in this age of VAR, Ovrebo turns a blind eye to the incident.
INCIDENT: Moments after Iniesta's equaliser, deep into stoppage time, Samuel
Eto'o blocks Michael Ballack's volley with his arm inside the box.
Ovrebo refuses to point to the spot, resulting in Ballack chasing the
referee back up the pitch to express his fury.
OVREBO'S VERDICT: The Cameroon international had his back to the ball and
had no chance to move his arm away from the ball. Ballack is booked for
dissent having run 40 yards to confront the official.
What was said at the time...
Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa were both handed European bans for their
conduct on the pitch following the full-time whistle at Stamford Bridge.
Drogba had already been substituted, but that didn't stop him confronting
the officials at the end of the game in an infamous rant caught on the
television cameras.
Fuelled by a sense of injustice after the fourth minute of stoppage time had
elapsed, the Ivorian embarked on a lengthy verbal tirade at Ovrebo, who was
subjected to further abuse from the striker after he had been shown a yellow
card as he was held back by stewards.
"It's a disgrace," he shouted repeatedly into a TV camera, complete with a
four-letter verdict. Bosingwa labelled Ovrebo a "thief" after the game as
chaos and bitterness reigned.
The Chelsea full-back told Portuguese television station RTP: "I don't know
if he's a referee or a thief.
"I don't have any words to describe that man that was on the pitch. We have
nothing against Barcelona's goal but the penalties that he didn't give us
and his way of managing the game weren't right at all.
"This referee should never referee a game again. What happened was a
disgrace. It was a well-contested game but the referee came to spoil our
game."
Hiddink said: "I'm still very disappointed of course, it's not easy to
analyse the game when the adrenaline is running. We should and could have
scored more, we could talk about the not-given penalties. There were four
tonight, and the boys feel, well, it's a little injustice.
"We should have had four penalties. As for the end of the game, I can fully
understand the disappointment of the players and I will protect them for
what they did because they had loads of adrenaline in their bodies."
The stands were in no doubt of the opinion that then-UEFA president Michel
Platini was desperate to break the Premier League's stranglehold on the
competition, after England had recorded five finalists in the previous four
years.
John Terry, superb on the night, added: "It's astonishing. It was a
shambles. We had six or seven penalty claims waved away and that's
astonishing."
What the papers said...
Matt Lawton of the
Daily Mail wrote: "After this, Chelsea might
just have to give the Champions League a miss next season.
"They might swerve it, and instead remain at home, because of the way it
tramples the soul, crushes the spirit and tears the heart from the chest.
The way it shatters their dreams in the cruellest way imaginable."
Henry Winter, writing at the time for the
Daily Telegraph, went
further.
"The bitterest of bile can be the only taste in Chelsea mouths this
morning," began his intro.
"Everyone associated with the Bridge, from dressing room to boardroom,
supporters to staff, will feel sick at the injustice of what befell them
here during heart-stoppage time on Wednesday night. So that's why they call
it the Blues.
"Whether you like Chelsea or not, whether you can stomach the crassness of
some of their fans or not, whether their powerful football is to your taste
or not, Guus Hiddink and his hard-working collection of players did not
deserve this brutal fate: a Champions League semi-final decided by the
incompetence of a referee rather than the skill of players."
The repercussions...
Having been escorted down the tunnel by Chelsea stewards, Ovrebo was swiftly
flown out of England the next day following death threats.
Police in Ovrebo's home city of Oslo revealed they investigated threats made
to the referee on the internet.
Hiddink always stated that he would return to his post at Russia at the end
of the season, but had Chelsea gained revenge for the heartbreak of Moscow,
would that have convinced the Dutchman to stay?
As for Drogba, the striker was handed a six-game European ban - two of which
were suspended for two years - while Bosingwa received a four-match ban (one
suspended) for his "thief" comment he later retracted.
Chelsea were fined £85,000 for "the improper conduct of their players and
the throwing of missiles by their supporters".
What has been said since...
Speaking after the charge, Drogba said: "Whatever I did and the decision
they take, I will accept it because my behaviour was not what Uefa and what
everyone wants to see in a football stadium. I will do my suspension and,
after that, I will come back stronger."
Bosingwa also issued an apology for his comments.
The Portugal defender said: "We were all very disappointed and frustrated
after the game, but I regret describing the referee as a thief. Having had
some time to reflect I would like to withdraw those comments."
Speaking last year, Ovrebo told Spanish newspaper Marca that he "cannot be
proud" of his officiating on an infamous night at Stamford Bridge.
"It was not my best day, really," Ovrebo, now 52, said. "But those mistakes
can be committed by a referee, and sometimes a player or a coach. Some days
you are not at the level you should be. But no, I can't be proud of that
performance."
What happened next?
Barcelona went on to lift the trophy by beating Manchester United 2-0 in the
final in Rome, while Chelsea dusted themselves down to beat Everton in the
FA Cup final.
The Blues would avenge the semi-final defeat three years later, securing a
3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona in the last four en route to lifting the
trophy in Munich.
But for some fans, revisiting one of the most controversial refereeing
performances a decade on, a sense of anger will still linger.
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