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Jose Bosingwa labels referee a 'thief'
7 May 2009
Jose Bosingwa has branded referee Tom Henning Ovrebo “a thief” after Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League in controversy at Stamford Bridge.
Ten-man Barcelona knocked out the Blues on away goals as Andres Iniesta's 93rd-minute equaliser cancelled out Michael Essien's magnificent first-half volley.
But although Ovrebo sent off Eric Abidal for a professional foul on Nicolas Anelka, the Norwegian official appeared to deny Guus Hiddink's side four clear penalties prompting ugly scenes at the final whistle.
Didier Drogba, who had been substituted, was booked after the match for a foul-mouthed tirade as several Chelsea players argued with the referee while the teams headed down the tunnel.
Pictures: Chelsea players confront the ref
And full-back Bosingwa told Portuguese TV station RTP: “I do not know if he is a referee or a thief. There are no words to describe the person that was on the pitch here.
“We are all sad, but we have to raise our heads high again. There is nothing to say about Barcelona's goal, but there were penalties that were not awarded.
“The way he refereed the match was not the most correct one. He should never referee again.”
Chelsea are almost certain to face a UEFA probe over their conduct but John Terry defended Drogba's reaction and also condemned Ovrebo's display.
Challenges involving Drogba and two handball claims could have resulted in spot-kicks and captain Terry said: “I am 100 per cent fully behind Didier for the way he reacted. The man wants to win. You could see the passion he played with in the game and the passion he played with afterwards. The referee makes bad decisions, he should face the consequences. He should be the one coming out here and speaking to you and going through what was and what wasn't, why he gave something, why he didn't give something.
“Over two legs they played well but the fact is that, in this game, we had six or seven penalty claims waved away and that is astonishing.
Anywhere else in the world that would not happen.
You can see he might not have given the first one, but come the second where Nicolas Anelka puts it round Pique and he slams it down with his hand?
“I didn't see the referee afterwards. He had our stewards supporting him which is funny. When you get to these stages, it is down to UEFA to be strong enough to say right, these are our four best referees. They are going to referee the home legs and the away legs'.
“You need experienced referees and you have experienced players in these ties. That's what we both had in this tie but we didn't have the referee to go with it. Players come into these games hoping and praying they don't make mistakes. Referees come away and he makes mistakes and he knows next time he is going to be given another game.”
Ovrebo has taken charge of 21 Champions League games - although this was his first semi-final - and also officiated in two group matches at Euro 2008.
Terry's fury also extended to Sky's condemnation of Chelsea's furious reaction, where pundits Jamie Redknapp, Ruud Gullitt and Graeme Souness suggested the players should have reacted with more discretion.
He said: “It's difficult when players are so high on emotion after the game and people are saying in the Sky studio that players shouldn't be reacting the way we did. That's impossible after having six or seven decisions go against you at home in front of 40,000 of your own fans and for the ref to not give one of them.”
Pictures: Chelsea players confront the ref
Reader views (45)
We all know this wasn`t Overbros own decision . After 50
years of watching football this is and i have never even seen anything like it ,( a ref by myself ) people higher up
dictating the result , for sure .
- Jan, Sweden, 09/05/2009 22:40
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in response to D - London
"Has no one thought that the reason he sent off Abidal was in order for people to make comments like, 'how could he be biased against Chelsea, he sent off Abidal'? It was a dubious sending off and one that wouldn't affect the game too much, he saw his chance to try to make it look like he wasn't blatantly pro Barcelona and took it"
Speaking as a West Ham fan, it is apparently FACT that one player can turn a whole game and indeed in our case with Tevez, a whole season. So you are wrong.
- Paul R, London, 08/05/2009 15:48
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Go Barca
- Pacifus, Newcastle Australia, 08/05/2009 00:49
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More idiotic comments from thick footballers. Are they all stupid?
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, 07/05/2009 21:24
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The trouble lies with these players due to cheating and diving that connend many refs in the past.
The ref is only human.
It's time to implement T.V. technology and use the 4th official for this purpose.
FIFA and EUFA need to move to the future.
- Joe, Swanley Kent, 07/05/2009 17:26
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'Has no one thought that the reason he sent off Abidal was in order for people to make comments like, 'how could he be biased against Chelsea, he sent off Abidal'?'
Only Chelsea supporters who are crying conspiracy.
But please do carry on, this is enormous entertainment
- Joe, Romford, 07/05/2009 17:18
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Ronaldo dives and plays up every bit as much as Drogba but Man Utd are in the final, no? So every time Barcelona get near the goal and are about to shoot Man Utd need to use their arms to block the shots, hack the player down and the referee will turn to the linesmen with their white sticks and wave play on, that is what happened last night. So all you people who keep coming up with "The Best Team Won" should realise that the best team doesn't always win, football is about making chances and putting them away. How many times have teams been all over Man Utd and let a goal in the last few minutes - but hey we need to change the rules for some of you guys and make it, not the team with the most goals to win but the team that plays the best - what rubbish. If the Team you are playing blatantly foul and get away with it then it is time we had replays. Referees today are obviously not good enough to make decisions on their own - if it isn't right we need to fix it. Barcelona didn't deserve to go thru last night as they couldn't achieve a basic need in the 90 minutes and that is to kick the ball between the goal posts. If the referee was awake then Chelsea would have won 3-1. As it was all you people having a go at Chelsea is unjust, you cannot score a goal if a cheating side like Barca need to stop you with handballs and fouls at critical moments, end of story. Chelsea didn't hack down the winning goal scorer as he prepared to shoot!!!!!
- Dave Lakey, London,UK, 07/05/2009 17:09
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Here we go again, bad ref or not was no excuse for these Chelsea thugs to lose their heads yet again. Its not the first time a ref has had to go into hiding after taking charge of a Chelsea game, the club fans and players have some history when it comes to death threats. Ok the ref was a disgrace but that was no excuse for the loutish behaviour of Drogba, Ballack, Terry and co and if Hiddik thinks there is nothing wrong with that sort of conduct he should be ashamed of himself.
- James Hennessy, london england, 07/05/2009 16:57
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Best team on the night won.The ref on the night was poor but that is how it goes.No doubt chelsea will start to look again for another manager and Drogba will have to stop diving and maybe the referee will take him serious when he claims a fail in the box.Good luck to Barcelona who kept there dignity on the night.
- Mick, London, 07/05/2009 16:25
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whats happened last night every one know the truth and some thing good will come out in way of improving the game and refering blunders 1 can be mistake second time can be forgivin 3rd and 4th time its fixed i think all english teams should pull out of chapions league next year just to teach uefa officals lession i dont think i can trust them for long time know and the ref should speak the truth what happened last night and what he was told to do and by who
- Devinder Singh, cardiff, 07/05/2009 16:23
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Has no one thought that the reason he sent off Abidal was in order for people to make comments like, 'how could he be biased against Chelsea, he sent off Abidal'? It was a dubious sending off and one that wouldn't affect the game too much, he saw his chance to try to make it look like he wasn't blatantly pro Barcelona and took it. He was probably told to give Chelsea something so it wasn't completely ridiculous. I'm not sure how anyone can have seen the game last night and not thought that the referee was put there to get Barcelona into the final. It seems UEFA found the perfect scapegoat - someone with a slightly dodgy reputation already who could be easily influenced and could go back to Norway and not be seen again. Yes Drogba missed his one chance, but the 4+ penalties would have made that one chance irrelevant.
I also don't understand why people think match fixing is so unlikely. Football has never been immune to corruption, there are millions of pounds at stake. Just ask the Italians.
I think the players' reaction was completely understandable. I'm sure members of Man Utd, Arsenal, Barcelona, etc, would have reacted in the same way had they been in the same situation.
- D, London, 07/05/2009 16:15
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Can't claim it, but liked this -
Chelsea whoever you may be. You ain't got no dignity. Yelling at the ref. Swearing on TV. UEFA will chuck the book at thee...
- Arnie, Amsterdam, 07/05/2009 15:55
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Terry said: “I am 100 per cent fully behind Didier for the way he reacted. The man wants to win. You could see the passion he played with in the game and the passion he played with afterwards.
CAPELLO PLEASE DROP HIM!!
What a shocking role model not only for kids but his fellow team mates he captains for club and country, what a disgrace.
Can someone ask him then if rugby players dont care if they win or lose as I have never seen last nights behaviour on a rugby pitch, if there was they would all have a life ban!
Real champions show their class in tough times, not when things are easy. What a sad, sad bunch with ZERO class.
Only thing is that nothing will be done, if they get fined the club will no doubt pay it for them, continuing to wrap them up in cotton wool, if its a 3 game ban for players it will only mean they miss games against the minnows in the early part of next years CL campaign so no serious damage done.
I am totally passionate about football and other sports and feelings do run high, but its not life and death. Send them all to Iraq for 3 months as punishment in place of our real heros.
- Paul Keen, London, 07/05/2009 15:37
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I'm really disgusted after this match. It was a real theft ! There was at least 2 confirmed penalties for the Blues. Since the beginning, i quickly understood that the ref would not whistle for Chelsea. I really think that "he" wanted Barcelona in final. If you see the ref's position while Piqué's hand touched the ball, he could not say he has not seen !And i'm also very disappointed over Belgian and French TV commentators who praised the quality of Barcelona instead of speaking over all the bad referee's decisions which have influenced the result. They were all happy with this masquerade... Barcelona doesn't deserve to go in the final. Come on Manchester, avenge the Blues...
- Leclercq Raymond, Waterloo, Belgium, 07/05/2009 14:35
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Barcelona are cheats, they blocked the ball with their hands, chopped players down when they are about to score and the referee never came to their aid. They couldn't even hit the target in 90 minutes, if you have 99% of the play but can't hit the target at the front you might as well stay in the dressing room. Barcelona for all their posession were rubbish, they have a good midfield but nothing where it counts. Chelsea had more quality chances without all the posession so how do you guys explain that then?
- Dave Lakey, London,UK, 07/05/2009 14:33
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I'm not surprised that Ovrebo ignored the handball situations. Afterall, the Norwegian team Mr. Ovrebo represents are more known of it's handball team than football.
- Morten, Oslo, Norway, 07/05/2009 14:23
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I am an impartial who saw the game and the referee was dreadful...more so for Chelsea than Barcelona summed up by his sending off which shouldn't have been...a disgrace who should not be alowed to ref any more high profile games....come to think of it any at all.
- Rosie, watford, 07/05/2009 14:22
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Horrible refereeing, but the referee did not cost the Blues the game. It was Drogba's missed goal opportunity. Bosingwa is just hurt but a terrible loser, he definitely needs to show more class. And Drogba needs to shut his mouth and own up for his mistakes, his theatrics and staged spills didn't get the Blues anywhere in this match. It's time for a forward that scores goals and spends more time on his feet rather than diving to the ground.
- Edgar, London, 07/05/2009 13:56
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Chelsea just been bad loosers , and bullies
- Paul Satchell, Tenerife -Spain, 07/05/2009 13:52
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Did Boswinga not see what happened to Sporting after the accused the ref in the final with Benfica? Hope the same and worse happens to him and the other members of the team. It is what they deserve. If a fan reacted like this, he would probably be banned for life from the club.
Just a thought
- Susan, Halesown, 07/05/2009 13:52
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The ref bottled it. UEFA don't want English teams to dominate. But the two aren't linked in my opinion.
We should have put them away, and if the ball hand't been handled twice and Drogba and Malouda fouled in the area, maybe we would have done WITHOUT the need for a resulting penalty. Truth is- we made the "Best Team In The World" look like toothless carthorses. And 37% possession? Who cares? Did Ali have 37% of the punches when he beat Foreman? I think not. Yet he's a "genius" for beating him.
For those who get their sad footballing fun from having a go at Chelsea, here's a truth- we'll be in it next year- where will YOUR team be?
For those who say we've got no history- we're writing our history now, and in the future. All some have is their "history", flat caps 'n all!
For those who say money can't buy success- take a look at Man U, Barca, Real Madrid, Liverpool and, oh yes- Chelsea's two premiership titles and European Semi Finals and Final. All great adventures, and very profitable, which means we can pay our players whatever we like.
It will all be so much better when Stevie and Gianfranco come home to a proper club, probably after the Boleyn is sold to developers by the Icelandic mob.
Roll-on next year's Champions League!!
- Fresh, LONDON, 07/05/2009 13:51
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The simple fact of the matter that Chelsea fans do not want to admit is that it was their team's responsibility to score a second goal and not be reliant on the ref's decisions. If Chelsea had not sat on their 1 goal lead they would not be in this position. Sure, the Ref was awful but there's no point scapegoating him when their was 97 other minutes to put a 2nd goal in the net and the tie beyond Barca's reach.
- Gene Genie, Fulham, London, 07/05/2009 13:30
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Hmmm .... "and now the end is near and so a lot of cheski players face the final curtain...."
Well as an outsider, my opinion of Mr Drogba was only enhanced... overpaid, overrated, obnoxious and obviously a very poor loser. I wonder whether he considered that the time added on by the referee might have been down to some of his play acting?.
Do you really think he would have complained so loud and so long if Barcelona hadn't scored?
- Brian, London, 07/05/2009 13:22
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Dave, London - Bless!.
Actually, the referee was especially brave (like Brave JT) last night - he decided he wasn't going to give any penalties and stuck to it...
Had your players, especially Drogba, not spent their entire Chelsea careers going down like they had been shot every time and opposition player breathed near them, you would have a far better chance of actually getting a penalty. Ref's have wised up to you.
But then that would deny me, and thousands of others, the gift of laughter at you petulant outbursts.
- Joe, A Cave, Romford, 07/05/2009 13:20
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Some Chelsea players were a disgrace after the game. I hope Eufa punish them with lengthy bans for next year. Chelsea must realise that there style of play needs to be cleaned up, the diving the cheating the conning of referees the play acting all have to go, until then i hope that they lose a lot more semifinals like last night.
The 2 best teams in europe will be contesting the Champions League Final Man United v Barcelona
- Mr S.Port, London, 07/05/2009 13:19
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Terry Drogba Ballack Anelka suffer from the Chelsea disease...A little talent + lots of easy money = underachievement.
- P Doff, paris france, 07/05/2009 13:12
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Best team won. Chelsea need to stop moaning. Penalties are not goals, Barcelona had a player sent off for nothing.
Maybe Chelsea should have defended the game out or finished some of their chances. It's now the final everyone wants. No one wants to see Chelsea play 10 behind the ball again in another final.
- James, London, 07/05/2009 13:10
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The referee was not a 'theif' merely woeful. I have seen this Thomas Gravesen look alike before & he was truly awful. The tug on Drogba & the handball by Pique were stonewall penalties. We must have 4 linesmen, with authority & perhaps some sort of TV evidence. The only problem I have is that in order to review the evidence the game may be delayed & that in any event, even the tv experts have different opinions of issues despite watching numerous re-runs. Finally, can anyone kindly explain why Ballack & Drogba were not red carded for their actions at the end of the match & will Bosingwa be brought to book for calling the referee a thief?
- Rob Gooner, North London, 07/05/2009 12:52
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as usual the chelsea knockers are out. Take note the Barca coach has called Terry a perfect gent for his behaviour after the game. How come thats not printed all over the back pages today?
- Jk, London, 07/05/2009 12:49
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Phil - I agree, the players are overpaid. But not much that I can do about that. Your team are your team and you defend them. All part of the game innit!
And I repeat, that ref was rubbish.
- Goggs, London, 07/05/2009 12:46
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Possession means nothing if you dont shoot on target! 13 shots during a 93 minute game, one on target - goal! Agree that they scored away - we did not - and good luck to them in the final! However, lets be honest here - we did not lose because the opposition played better, we basically lost due to a ref that was totally inept - we should have scored another goal and 2-0 would have had us into the final - so just award at least one of the 3 or 4 penalty shouts and all is fair! I wish the Catalans all the best in the final, they battled right to the end and the away goal got them through, so no complaints there, but the ref was not poor it was for me the worst refereee performance I have seen in living memory - watch the decisions (or lack of them again), strange - very strange!
- Melly, Cartagena, 07/05/2009 12:43
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The only rule when running down the clock is keep the ball, take it into the corner etc. Chelsea failed to do that in the last minute before Barcelona scored chosing to cross instead resulting in the ball going back into open play. Learn from this and concentrate on what you have control over and not what you can't such as ref's decsions. Oh and well done for the post match outbursts. Pretty musch assured yourselves of not getting any decisons next season as well!
- Martin Gallagher, London, 07/05/2009 12:24
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didn`t Chelse get a pen v man u a couple of years ago at the bridge when it wasnt,Ballack cheating,along with the Drog rolling around waving cards,if it wasn`t for his awful finishing They could be in the final, but they are not,so it is easy for them to blame the ref and have a moan..Drogba was and is a disgrace,a long ban awaits i think..yes th ref was poor as he was in th other semi final,but they are an easy target and that is a Uefa problem.
Abidal should not have been sent off,Barca WERE the better team over 2 games,Chelsea were too cautious,and if they want to go down that road why didn`t Henry have a pen in the first game,short memories.
Chelsea are unliked by many fans due too their sheer arrogance,ego maniacs who are overpaid,who cant take a defeat,many of them are fast becoming past it and i for one will not miss them,esp: Drogba,Ballack,these too are what is wrong with the game...deal with them Uefa..total lack of respect for fellow pros and refs.
i look forward to a final with 2 truly great fooballing sides.
- Phil, ricks, 07/05/2009 12:00
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Wondering how long it would be before we got comments from clueless mugs like Joe, to be be turned down 3-4 stonewall penalty decisions is an absolute disgrace, UEFA made a mistake in their choice of referee, I hardly find an outburst of 'emotion' shows a lack of class, pleasr crawl back into your cave.
- Dave, London, 07/05/2009 11:52
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This is typical behaviour by Chelsea. Drogba should have been sent off earlier for over acting in the penalty area, and the offence for sending off was not even close to a deliberate contact. If the conspiracy theorists behind the idea that the ref was ordered to avoid an all English clubs' Final had any validity, then this referee, who I agree was poor, would not have limited Barcelona, already one goal down, to ten men with still half the second half to play. The fact is that Chelsea, the home side, had only 37% of possession, even when against ten men. Barcelona played poorly and still outclassed them. Live with it.
- Stephen Rothbart, Prague Czech Republic, 07/05/2009 11:48
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Tom Henning Ovrebo, did one mistake, and that was not give drogba he red card. the referee did a good game. if essien had cleard the ball before barcelona scored then evrything would have been okay, dont claim the refere. Chelsea played 11 against 10, for a long time and was it a red card? they have only themself to claim.
- Ove Langøy, Bergen,Norway, 07/05/2009 11:33
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Was sending the Barcelona player off after Anelka dived all part of the conspiracy?
How cunning of them. Very elaborate.
- Graeme, Hornchurch, England, 07/05/2009 11:31
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Is Abromovich really REALLY proud of what Chelsea represents - petulant little overpaid under-achieving schoolyard bullies?
- Clive, Shortlands Kent, 07/05/2009 11:28
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Ovrebo admitted he had made some 'major mistakes' in the match! Not good enough!!! At this level of the game referees should not be making 'major mistakes'. This wasn't a 'heartbreaking defeat' this was daylight robbery and Ovrebo should go back to refereeing the under 12s.
I for one back the conspiracy theory re UEFA not wanting two English clubs in the final. Other countries might be envious of our premiership and Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool earned their places in this competition and unless the rules change, I look forward to seeing four English clubs in the same position next year.
Come on Utd, we've already shown the world who has the best clubs in Europe, I'll be supporting the reds on the night. And let's hope that you get a better ref than we did.
- Goggs, London, 07/05/2009 10:48
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If the referee is a 'thief' it can only be in response to Terry's brave 'You can't buy that'...
Thank you Chelsea, you showed your lack of class again. I laughed like a drain last night and woke up with a huge smile today.
- Joe, Romford, 07/05/2009 10:43
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The strangest thing happended last night, don't know if anybody else noticed it;
Drogba, with only one man to beat, still managed to stay on his feet and offload a volley!?
Shame it wasn't during the game....
- Juan Carlos, Chelsea, 07/05/2009 10:01
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Didn't a certain senior EUFA official not want two English clubs in te final again? I think the ref was under instructions - anyone else agree?
- Stephen, London, 07/05/2009 09:46
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Did Terry not know who the ref was BEFORE the game. Dearie me - if chelsea had won what would Terry's opinion have been?
- Clive, Shortlands Kent, 07/05/2009 09:41
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Chelsea, and John Terry in particular, have been getting away with handballs in the penalty area for years.
- Dave Markham, London, UK, 07/05/2009 09:34
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Sadly, the antics of some of our players at the final whistle let the club down. The players are not ready to grace the greatest stage and the two best sides in the competition are competing in the final. It is all well and good for Mr Hiddink to say that the palyers are disappointed but there is no call for the behaviour of Drogba (surely time to move him on) Ballack and Terry. If rugby players behaved like that they would get a lengthy ban and it is time for football to put its house in order!
- Super Blue, London, 07/05/2009 09:18
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