The referee of the Champions League semi final between Chelsea and Barcelona has received internet death threats and had to be smuggled out of the UK following his controversial handling of the game . Norwegian Tom Ovrebo was harangued by Chelsea players incensed at his handling of the game at Stamford Bridge that saw them dramatically dumped out of the competition.
Posters on website forums and even groups on Facebook threatened reprisals against the 42-year-old.He had waved away at least four Chelsea penalty appeals during the game that saw Barcelona score a late equaliser to make it 1-1 and go through on the away goals rule.At the final whistle he was forced to run down the tunnel back on to the pitch to escape furious Chelsea players including England captain John Terry, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba, who also launched a foul-mouthed rant into nearby TV cameras.Drogba turned to a cameraman after the final whistle and shouted: "It's a disgrace. It's a f***ing disgrace."
Police were so concerned for Mr Ovrebo's safety they reportedly changed his hotel then later smuggled him on to a flight back to Norway.In Mr Ovrebo's home city of Oslo police said they were investigating threats made on the internet, which has seen a flood of messages including the referee's home address and warnings that fans will 'hunt him' and 'kill him'.
Groups such as Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo and We Wanna Kill Tom Henning Ovrebo began to appear on Facebook.
Bit dramatic ? LOL