Tom Henning Ovrebo...Champions League...Really?

I was just slowly making my way through the pre-season with my team and found Tom Henning Ovrebo refereeing one of my games.

Now I hear you ask, "Who were the two teams in question?"...

...they were in fact the mighty Airbus and Rushden and Diamonds! For a gent who's just officiated a Champions League Semi-Final, I find this particular game a strange choice.

Rushden won 3-0 by the way...with a controversial penalty given in the last few minutes - I kid you not!

Based on his CL performance, that's probably the level he should ref at...

he actually did a good job in the cl semi-final, the only penalty that should have been given was the pique handball and that was more the assistant referee's fault thatn Ovrebo's, plus if you watch the replays closely Anelka didn;t dive, his ankles were clipped and although a red might be harsh it is still justified. Basically a bit off topic but he did do a good job irl.

About the thread, most penalties seem controversial on fm now, i constantly get questions about whether a penalty should or should not have been given so it was probably only controversial as far as the conceding team was concerned.

Its probably just randomised by the game. Unrealistic but surely no biggy.

he actually did a good job in the cl semi-final, the only penalty that should have been given was the pique handball and that was more the assistant referee's fault thatn Ovrebo's, plus if you watch the replays closely Anelka didn;t dive, his ankles were clipped and although a red might be harsh it is still justified. Basically a bit off topic but he did do a good job irl.

About the thread, most penalties seem controversial on fm now, i constantly get questions about whether a penalty should or should not have been given so it was probably only controversial as far as the conceding team was concerned.

Ehr... Personally I'm an United-fan, but from what I could see, Chelsea should had atleast three penalites, maybe more. The ref was quite useless, really.

Nope only the one. No ref was going to give that penalty for the tackle on drogba because the only foul was Toure's pushing and pulling outside the box, the final tackle was quite good. As for the eto'o handball, how much more can you get you're harms out of the way, ballack kicked theball into his arm and i wouldn't be surprised if he did it in an attempt to get a penalty, plus the ruling is quite clear, the hand must play the ball, not the other way around. And Malouda was brought down outside the box, thats where the contact was made, he fell into the box in an attempt to get a penalty but the ref knew what was going on.

TBF I only thought there were two penalties. Obviously the Pique one, and I would probably have given the Drogba one, although you can see where his reputation befalled him there.

Referees can be deployed in any match, whether top level European games or low level friendlies.

I take it these death threats were actually empty threats then lol.

He should have given maximum one penalty, and even Pique's handball is not as clear as you should think first time you look at it. The handball-rules in football needs to be reworked as they are too unclear. He did make a couple of mistakes though. Ballack should have been rewarded a red card for his dispiccable behaviour, and why didnt he give Drogba a second yellow when the first one did nothing to calm him down? Chelsea are a bunch of clowns who deserve to be out. Blaming the referee is just pathetic when your own defensive approach, not only in the away-game, but even on their home ground against 10-men, is why they couldnt reach the final. They have got only themselves, and their sudden lack of balance when inside the penalty area, to blame.

He should have given maximum one penalty, and even Pique's handball is not as clear as you should think first time you look at it. The handball-rules in football needs to be reworked as they are too unclear. He did make a couple of mistakes though. Ballack should have been rewarded a red card for his dispiccable behaviour, and why didnt he give Drogba a second yellow when the first one did nothing to calm him down? Chelsea are a bunch of clowns who deserve to be out. Blaming the referee is just pathetic when your own defensive approach, not only in the away-game, but even on their home ground against 10-men, is why they couldnt reach the final. They have got only themselves, and their sudden lack of balance when inside the penalty area, to blame.

I'll think you find a lot of people who will disagree with you. Fans of most teams in England are in support of Chelsea on this one. On balance Abidal shouldnt have been sent off either. Top level games like that should only be officiated by top level referees.

Abidal did clip anelka's ankle and therefore the ref had every right to send him off, but Bjaart is right, chelsea reacted poorly and in fact overreacted, there was not as much to complain about as they thought. As a result a good referee's reputation has been destroyed because of fans of a rich club who expect to buy the champions league. And of course most english football fans are in support of chelsea because they want the english clubs to rule the world.

Abidal did clip anelka's ankle and therefore the ref had every right to send him off, but Bjaart is right, chelsea reacted poorly and in fact overreacted, there was not as much to complain about as they thought. As a result a good referee's reputation has been destroyed because of fans of a rich club who expect to buy the champions league. And of course most english football fans are in support of chelsea because they want the english clubs to rule the world.

And thats the way it should be! A world cup would be better like but...... well...... no chance really

And thats the way it should be! A world cup would be better like but...... well...... no chance really

lol, well i don't know i think england could give the best teams a run for their money at south africa 2010, as an australian i hope it doesn't happen but it has always confused me how the english side can have so much talent but can't do anything with it. If australia had someone like wayne rooney up front we could win the world cup, hopefully sean rooney will get there one day.

I'll think you find a lot of people who will disagree with you. Fans of most teams in England are in support of Chelsea on this one. On balance Abidal shouldnt have been sent off either. Top level games like that should only be officiated by top level referees.

What I am saying is most people dont really know the rules for when it is a handball, and when it is not. And for all the inconsistancy from one ref to the next, I doubt all the referees really know themselves. And who can blame them? The rules are so unclear and should be re-worked. I can understand that most football fans, no matter which teams they support, are behind Chelsea on this one. Immediately after the match I was too. But I took the time to really study the rules, and what I found was that the referee actually has a strong case based on the actual rules of football, to justify him turning down the appeal. What I am saying is that the Pique-handball is according to the rulebook not a clear penalty. Its up to the referee to make a desicion on a lot of factors, and that is what Ovrebo did. Dont hate the player, or in this case the referee, hate the game.

I'll think you find a lot of people who will disagree with you. Fans of most teams in England are in support of Chelsea on this one. On balance Abidal shouldnt have been sent off either. Top level games like that should only be officiated by top level referees.

Like Rossetti? He officiated the World Cup final, is a great ref from a big country and he also got a penalty and sending off wrong in the other semi's.

We have accept that refs makes mistakes, even big shots. In a world of professionals, refs are the only 'amateurs'. We need technical assistance and other things to help out.

I see the argument about only referees from the top countries should officiate the big matches as utter garbage. Ovrebo has got a long record of great matches on the highest level, and I really admire the way he behaved during the semi final. It was probably one of the hardest matches, when marginal situations is concerned, that I have ever witnessed. And it takes courage to turn down one penalty appeal after another on such a big teams own home ground. He must have known the stir it would cause, being that the team was an english one, but he still made the hard desicions, and he got them right. Most referees would have buckled under for the temptation to compensate the team for the amount of "close calls" but Ovrebo didnt, and I salute him for that. That is the kind of refereeing football needs. I am sick of seeing the home ground for the big teams being such an advantage when it comes to marginal calls, and wish more referees could be as professional as the referee from Norway.

starting this again are we . Who cares, Essien should have actually cleared it further than 2 yards in the lead up to the goal, get over it.

As for in FM, i'm guessin it must just give you a random in friendlies or something

As far as I can see, no one agrees on how many penalties should have been awarded or whether Abidal should have been sent off or not. I make this observation not only based on this post but other forums I have read since the match. I think it shows how tough a job referees have, although I think this ref had a very poor game. For what it's worth, I think one penalty when Abidal brought down Drogba and no sending off for Abidal.

umm it was toure who brought down drogba but if anything that should only have been a freekick the only foul was the pushing and pulling outside of the box, he got the ball first with the final tackle so no referee in their right mind can give a penalty for that.

Sorry, mistaken identity. But I considered the shirt pulling grounds for the penalty. BTW I do not support Chelsea but do have some sympathy for them. The prospect of Man U v Barcelona was always my desired outcome but the result on wednesday would have been hard to swallow if I had been a Chelsea fan.

No what about the first leg? Henry was denied a clear penalty, so if chelsea had of gone through on a penalty there would have been barca fans slamming the referee for awarding any of those penalties, it would have been worse if chelsea had of gone through by those means, from a nuetral perspective. Although i actually think Chelsea would have stood a better chance of beating man utd and for that reason i would have rather seen chelsea there. I guess its now barca for the win!

Well played Rushden...

*looks at location*

Based on his CL performance, that's probably the level he should ref at...

Exactly my first thought too

I think Hiddink summed it up in his post match interview - "We should have put the game to bed."

Also, there might not have been 4mins injury time if Drogba didn't dive about as much as he did that night. He think he has a god given right to get a freekick/penalty (just like Ronaldo...and I'm a Man Utd fan).

On topic - I've seen ref's referee at all different levels so Ovrebo refereeing at that low level doesn't surprise me but I would think that it's maybe random in FM world.

The refs don't have stats that i'm aware.... probably all random as golfpunk said.

I'd be suprised if the ref stats are completely random as i usually see names i recognise taking charge of European games. I think the way it works is UEFA have a pool of referees who get sent to random games from the start of the competition.

Anyway, i'm delighted Chelsea lost that semi and hopefully UEFA will throw the book at them, a nice ban from Europe sounds good, if unlikely.

One pen and maybe an 2nd if drogba didn't dive all the time, also barca's red wasn't a red he had a shocker of a game so he did

I had him for a Euro Cup 4th Qual 2nd leg game...he gave an 88th minute penalty against me. SI Clearly got his stats wrong...giving a penalty? Terrible.

As Chelsea vs Milan in the Champions League Semis, Ovrebo gave Milan 3 penalties in the last 15 minutes to send them through on away goals. Son of a...

Please dont reopen old posts for no reason- thanks.