Chelsea ace: Ref was under orders

THE shaken referee accused of denying Chelsea a place in the Champions League final was SNEAKED out of Britain — as Blues hothead Jose Bosingwa backed claims the official was part of a PLOT.

Norwegian Tom Henning Ovrebo, 42, was last night in hiding after a last-gasp Barcelona goal sent the Spaniards through to play Manchester United.

Fuming defender Bosingwa lost his rag after the explosive semi-final in which Chelsea had four penalty claims turned down.


He insisted the official had been briefed to stop the final being an all-English showdown.

The 26-year-old Portuguese star raged: “This referee was under orders. I do not know if he is a referee or a thief.
Outraged

“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.”

Yesterday he was forced to WITHDRAW his “thief” remark — as he faced possible suspension for bad-mouthing an official.

But as outraged fans railed against the alleged plot even gutted Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink admitted angrily: “There is an overall feeling of being robbed, injustice.



He went on: “You have sometimes to give the benefit of the doubt to the referee but if you have three or four situations in a sequence... it is the worst I have seen.”

He added: “Conspiracy is a very tough word and, if there is, you have to prove it. I can only mention what I see. I cannot say whether UEFA wouldn’t like another English final.”

Striker Didier Drogba is among other Blues stars who could also be hit with a ban for haranguing referee Ovrebo. The official — who has since received DEATH THREATS — fled back on to the pitch following Wednesday night’s game at Stamford Bridge as enraged stars raced to confront him in the players’ tunnel.

Among them was wild-eyed Drogba, who shouted and pointed at the bald-headed official before screaming at TV cameras: “This is a “****ing disgrace”.

Ovrebo, who is a trained psychologist, had to be given a police escort from the ground back to his central London hotel. A Met police source said: “His car was shadowed following the game as a precaution.

“It is not something we have ever had to do before, but emotions were running high.” On advice from UEFA, the ref was then moved to a hotel near Heathrow.

Ovrebo flew home to Oslo accompanied by a UEFA official — and was then spirited away in a well-planned security operation.

Rune Pedersen, the federation’s refereeing boss, said: “We recommended that he lay low for a while.” Yesterday — after the ref’s address was posted on the internet — there was no sign of him, wife Bente, 38, or their two children.

A patrol car stood guard outside the family’s suburban home. UEFA sources said Ovrebo is likely to be banned from refereeing in the Champions League.

Officials barred him from talking about the Chelsea match. But he insisted to pals: “I’m going to stay strong.” One chum said: “Tom has been shocked by the reaction.

“But he won’t be put off by Chelsea fans or players, however angry they are at his decisions.

“He is very strong-minded and won’t give in to this campaign of hate. He slept through most of the flight home and is keeping his cool.

“Tom said he just wants to go home and get back to a normal life.

The controversial second leg of the semi final saw Chelsea draw 1-1 with the Spanish giants — which meant they lost on the away goal rule. Norwegian cops were last night probing a glut of death threats against the referee posted on the web.

Among hate groups set up on Facebook was one entitled: “Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo”. Other threats appeared on fans’ chat forums. Police in Oslo said: “We are watching closely what is being posted on the internet. Anything we believe would threaten his personal safety will be taken seriously.”

Former international referee Graham Poll slammed Chelsea’s players for stoking the fans’ anger. He said: “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.

“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.

But a UEFA source said: “We don’t have to see Tom’s report to know there were some big mistakes made in the game. It’s very unlikely Tom will take charge of these kind of games in the future.”

Ovrebo is paid £5,000 a game to referee Champions League matches and has officiated in 22.
Decisions

In the past he revealed he took fans’ anger with a pinch of salt. But he admitted: “The limit goes when people threaten you and say that they will kill you.

“We get threats like that sometimes, and if those affect my family and friends, or my children get picked at in school because Daddy is a referee — then I will consider if I should move on as a ref.”

UEFA general secretary David Taylor, who was at the match, branded claims of a plot to stop an all-English final “a load of cr*p.”

Chelsea last night warned fans the club will take the “strongest possible action” against anyone found guilty of making threats against the referee.

Chelsea’s England skipper John Terry accused the official of botching at least SIX big decisions. He said: “For the ref to not give one of them is unusual.” He added: “How are you supposed to feel? It’s a shambles really.”

Fellow England ace Frank Lampard said at least three were clear penalties. He declared: “I don’t think you can really expect grown men to walk off and not say a word.”