| Full name | Tom Henning Øvrebø | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1966-06-26)26 June 1966 (age 59) Oslo, Norway | ||
| Other occupation | Psychologist | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1992–2012 |  Tippeligaen | Referee | |
| 2013 | 1. divisjon | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1994–2010 | FIFA | Referee | |
Tom Henning Øvrebø (born 26 June 1966) is aNorwegian formerfootballreferee who has officiated matches in theUEFA Cup and theUEFA Champions League. He has been elected inUEFA's top category of Elite Referee. He is known for refereeing in multiple controversial matches including the2008–09 UEFA Champions League semifinal betweenChelsea andBarcelona which was later dubbed asthe scandal ofStamford Bridge.[1] Øvrebø has worked outside football as a qualifiedpsychologist.[2]
Born inOslo, Øvrebø refereed over two hundred games in theNorwegian top division since his debut made on 20 September 1992. He represented the Norwegian sports clubNordstrand. In 1994, he became an authorised FIFA referee. He won theKniksen Award as referee of the year in the Norwegian top League for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. He refereed theNorwegian Cup finals of1999 (Rosenborg–Brann 2-0) and2006 (Fredrikstad–Sandefjord 3–0).
Øvrebø was chosen to referee at theEuro 2008, his first major tournament and the first time he was chosen over fellow countryman and colleagueTerje Hauge. He refereed theGermany–Poland match on the opening day of Group B and theItaly–Romania match of Group C that ended in a 1–1 draw. In that game, Italy scored first with aLuca Toni goal but Øvrebø disallowed it for offside. He subsequently admitted that the decision "was a mistake," after watching the pass to Toni in a television replay.[3] Despite the draw, Italy advanced to the next stage of the tournament.
On 6 May 2009, Øvrebø officiated in theUEFA Champions League's semi-final second leg betweenChelsea andBarcelona. The game ended in a 1–1 draw and Barcelona advanced to the final onaway goals.[4] At the end of the game, he was verbally abused by several Chelsea players, includingDidier Drogba,José Bosingwa andMichael Ballack, after turning down severalpenalty appeals by the home team during the match.[5][6] Drogba had to be physically restrained at the end of the match[5] and the Norwegian referee was later escorted out of England by police on account of fears for his safety. He reportedly received a number ofdeath threats, from which Chelsea distanced themselves.[7] Drogba was subsequently banned for three matches and Bosingwa for two. Chelsea were fined £85,000 for improper conduct on the part of their players and fans.[6]
Øvrebø claimed in 2012 that he was still the subject of abuse from Chelsea fans.[8] In 2018, he admitted toMarca that he made "a series of mistakes" and that he was "not proud" of that performance, which the newspaper presented as "infamous." He claimed that "those mistakes can be committed by [any] referee", and expressed the wish that people will not remember his career "just for that game."[9]
In 2023, French former international refereeTony Chapron reviewed the game, along with Didier Drogba, for theFrench sports channelCanal+ Sport.[10] Chapron assessed the refereeing in the game as "a disgrace." He considered as its "key moment" thefree-kick given by Øvrebø in the first half, instead of a penalty, whenDaniel Alves fouledFlorent Malouda inside the Barcelona box. Chapron claimed that the referee, having realized he'd made a mistake, "lost his head."[11]
Øvrebø had previously come under "strong" criticism when, in February 2010, he'd allowed a goal scored byMiroslav Klose from a "clearly"[12]off-side position in the final minutes of the gameBayern Munich vsFiorentina, in the2009–10 UEFA Champions League, during the round-of-16. His call sparked anger in Italy,[13][14] after the managers of both teams agreed it was in error.[15] The result advanced Bayern to the next stage.
Øvrebø, the next day, said "I chose to approve the goal" although admitting "it's clear we should have realised it was offside." He initially blamed the "wrong information" coming from the linesman, but ultimately accepted he was responsible.[12]
In the group stages ofqualification for the2010 World Cup, Øvrebø refereed the gamesArmenia–Turkey,Belgium–Spain, andSlovakia–Czech Republic. On 10 October 2009, Øvrebø refereed theGreece–Latvia game.[16] In that game, on 10 October 2009, Øvrebø awarded a "highly disputed" penalty to the Greek team, at that point trailing 2–1, a decision that helped the Greeks turn the result around and win. After the game, Latvian managerAleksandrs Starkovs stated that "there was clearly no foul" and that he "didn't understand why Øvrebø awarded a penalty."[17]
Øvrebø was among the 14 referees short-listed by UEFA for the final stages of the2010 FIFA World Cup inSouth Africa,[18] but was eventually not among the 10 referees picked fromEurope, as announced in March 2010.[19]
In May 2010, he resigned from his position as a FIFA Referee and concentrated on officiating in the Norwegian league.[20] After three years, in October 2013, Øvrebø announced his retirement from professional refereeing.[21]