The referee who officiated in Chelsea's Champions League semi-final defeat was smuggled out of Britain under police guard today after receiving death threats from furious fans.
Norwegian Tom Henning Ovrebo has been targeted by fans in a vicious hate campaign after last night's match, which saw the west London club dramatically knocked out of the competition on the away goals rule.
The referee was accused of waving away four penalty appeals during the game against Barcelona and was the victim of a barrage of abuse at the final whistle from Chelsea players, including Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and England captain John Terry.
Sky Sports chiefs were forced to apologise after viewers saw striker Drogba launch a foul-mouthed rant at the referee.
The official was forced to run from the tunnel on to the pitch to avoid confrontations with irate players.
Police were so concerned for his safety, they changed the hotel he was staying in and later organised his secret exit from the country.
Today police in Mr Ovrebo's home city of Oslo said they were investigating threats made on the internet, which has seen a flood of messages including the referee's address and warnings that fans will 'hunt him' and 'kill him'.
And one Chelsea player has accused the referee of being biased against the Stamford Bridge club.
Defender Jose Bosingwa told RTP: 'This referee was told to be against Chelsea. 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. The way he refereed the match was not the most correct one. He should never referee again.'
Former international referee Graham Poll told Radio Five Live today: 'This morning he's being smuggled out of our country under police escort - this is a referee of a football match. That is a disgrace.
'When he booked in a hotel they had to change the hotel he was staying at because of the fear that maybe fans would find him.'
He added: 'When you see players acting like that, fans are called fans because they are fanatics - they may feel it's time to take action themselves.'
He described the actions of Chelsea players Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack as 'a dreadful display of petulance', and blamed stewards for now stepping in quickly enough to protect the referee.
'Players should show some restraint. They should show some respect,' he said.
Drogba was caught on live television unleashing a foul-mouthed four-letter rant at the final whistle, before running on to the pitch to remonstrate with Ovrebo.
Ballack ran after the referee and appeared to make contact with him after an appeal for a penalty for a handball was turned down.
Embarrassed Sky Sports chiefs were forced to apologise after Drogba's outburst, which was shown again with sounds after an advert break.
The Ivorian striker, who had already been substituted, turned to a cameraman and shouted: 'It's a disgrace. It's a ****ing disgrace.'
He had to be restrained by manager Guus Hiddink and teammates as tempers boiled over at the end of the game.
A Sky Sports spokesman said: 'At the end of the game shortly before 10pm Didier Drogba was heard swearing on the pitch as he faced the steady camera.
'An immediate apology was made in the studio for the language and any offence.'
The programme's host Richard Keys added: 'Sorry, we shouldn't have shown that again.'
The campaign against Ovrebo has echoes of the case of Anders Frisk, a referee who faced a hate campaign after another Chelsea versus Barcelona match.
Chelsea's coach at the time, Jose Mourinho, accused him of 'adulterating' the outcome of a match. Frisk eventually quit as a referee.
Threats were made on Chelsea fans' forums including CFCnet and The Shed End. One fan wrote: 'I want that ref assaulted' while another said: 'I will kill him.'
On Facebook, several groups were created by this morning dedicated to abusing the referee, including one titled 'Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo'.
The creator of one group states: 'We group dedicated to the hunt for (and brutal murdering of) the second-leg champions league ref of Chelsea vs Barcelona.'
There have been suggestions that Uefa does not want a second all-England final after last year's game between Chelsea and Man Utd.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink said after the match: 'We could talk a lot about penalties not given. There were three situations that were so clear.
'I shall not say what I really feel. We all feel injustice. You should ask the people at UEFA who gave the referee this game.'
Asked whether the refereeing performance had anything to do with UEFA not wanting two English teams in the final again, Hiddink added: ‘You can never prove this. It’s just said out of emotion.’
Ovrebo, 42, works as a psychologist outside football. In Euro 2008, the Italian Football Federation demanded an apology from Uefa after he incorrectly ruled out a goal by Luca Toni in Italy's match against Romania.
Afterwards, Ovrebo admitted he had made a mistake and was not assigned any more tournament matches. He is also said to have admitted to Uefa officials after last night's match that he made some major mistakes.
Barcelona will now face Manchester United in the final on May 27 in Rome.
Chelsea referee smuggled out of Britain under police guard after death threats from fans | Mail Online
Norwegian Tom Henning Ovrebo has been targeted by fans in a vicious hate campaign after last night's match, which saw the west London club dramatically knocked out of the competition on the away goals rule.
The referee was accused of waving away four penalty appeals during the game against Barcelona and was the victim of a barrage of abuse at the final whistle from Chelsea players, including Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and England captain John Terry.
Sky Sports chiefs were forced to apologise after viewers saw striker Drogba launch a foul-mouthed rant at the referee.
The official was forced to run from the tunnel on to the pitch to avoid confrontations with irate players.
Police were so concerned for his safety, they changed the hotel he was staying in and later organised his secret exit from the country.
Today police in Mr Ovrebo's home city of Oslo said they were investigating threats made on the internet, which has seen a flood of messages including the referee's address and warnings that fans will 'hunt him' and 'kill him'.
And one Chelsea player has accused the referee of being biased against the Stamford Bridge club.
Defender Jose Bosingwa told RTP: 'This referee was told to be against Chelsea. 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. The way he refereed the match was not the most correct one. He should never referee again.'
Former international referee Graham Poll told Radio Five Live today: 'This morning he's being smuggled out of our country under police escort - this is a referee of a football match. That is a disgrace.
'When he booked in a hotel they had to change the hotel he was staying at because of the fear that maybe fans would find him.'
He added: 'When you see players acting like that, fans are called fans because they are fanatics - they may feel it's time to take action themselves.'
He described the actions of Chelsea players Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack as 'a dreadful display of petulance', and blamed stewards for now stepping in quickly enough to protect the referee.
'Players should show some restraint. They should show some respect,' he said.
Drogba was caught on live television unleashing a foul-mouthed four-letter rant at the final whistle, before running on to the pitch to remonstrate with Ovrebo.
Ballack ran after the referee and appeared to make contact with him after an appeal for a penalty for a handball was turned down.
Embarrassed Sky Sports chiefs were forced to apologise after Drogba's outburst, which was shown again with sounds after an advert break.
The Ivorian striker, who had already been substituted, turned to a cameraman and shouted: 'It's a disgrace. It's a ****ing disgrace.'
He had to be restrained by manager Guus Hiddink and teammates as tempers boiled over at the end of the game.
A Sky Sports spokesman said: 'At the end of the game shortly before 10pm Didier Drogba was heard swearing on the pitch as he faced the steady camera.
'An immediate apology was made in the studio for the language and any offence.'
The programme's host Richard Keys added: 'Sorry, we shouldn't have shown that again.'
The campaign against Ovrebo has echoes of the case of Anders Frisk, a referee who faced a hate campaign after another Chelsea versus Barcelona match.
Chelsea's coach at the time, Jose Mourinho, accused him of 'adulterating' the outcome of a match. Frisk eventually quit as a referee.
Threats were made on Chelsea fans' forums including CFCnet and The Shed End. One fan wrote: 'I want that ref assaulted' while another said: 'I will kill him.'
On Facebook, several groups were created by this morning dedicated to abusing the referee, including one titled 'Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo'.
The creator of one group states: 'We group dedicated to the hunt for (and brutal murdering of) the second-leg champions league ref of Chelsea vs Barcelona.'
There have been suggestions that Uefa does not want a second all-England final after last year's game between Chelsea and Man Utd.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink said after the match: 'We could talk a lot about penalties not given. There were three situations that were so clear.
'I shall not say what I really feel. We all feel injustice. You should ask the people at UEFA who gave the referee this game.'
Asked whether the refereeing performance had anything to do with UEFA not wanting two English teams in the final again, Hiddink added: ‘You can never prove this. It’s just said out of emotion.’
Ovrebo, 42, works as a psychologist outside football. In Euro 2008, the Italian Football Federation demanded an apology from Uefa after he incorrectly ruled out a goal by Luca Toni in Italy's match against Romania.
Afterwards, Ovrebo admitted he had made a mistake and was not assigned any more tournament matches. He is also said to have admitted to Uefa officials after last night's match that he made some major mistakes.
Barcelona will now face Manchester United in the final on May 27 in Rome.
Chelsea referee smuggled out of Britain under police guard after death threats from fans | Mail Online
