On This Day: In 2009 Chelsea eliminated by Barcelona with set of controversial decisions made by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo

On This Day: In 2009, Chelsea were eliminated by Barcelona after a set of controversial decisions were made by the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Barcelona has often been accused of getting favours from the referees, but what Chelsea fans felt on this day 11 years ago is beyond comparison and they still have the bad blood against alleged biased favours made bt referee Tom Henning Overbo.

Barcelona met Chelsea in the semi-final of the Champions League 2008/09, the first match between both the teams ended up in a goalless draw at the Nou Camp.

Thus the fate of the two teams was awaited at the Stamford Bridge. In the second leg, Chelsea got an early advantage after Michael Essien score in the 9th minute.

From there onwards, Tom Henning Overbo made some controversial decisions, which Chelsea fans along with many other fanbases think that it was one of the worst refereeings ever.

The Blues then had as many as four appeals for a penalty dismissed by referee Tom Ovrebo. If the VAR had been present back then, things might have been different for the Blues.

Ultimately, late in the game and deep into stoppage time when a swing of Andres Iniesta’s right foot saw the ball sail over Petr Cech into the top corner.

Watch the highlights

Chelsea was stunned with it and couldn’t believe what they had faced. Meanwhile, Barcelona cruised to the finale of the Champions League against Manchester United and ultimately won the tournament.

But back in the Stamford Bridge, it sparked Didier Drogba into a furious rant in front of the TV cameras, calling it a ‘f**king disgrace.’ Michael Ballack was seen running behind Overbo making him realize his mistakes, but ultimately of no use.

Although Barcelona still celebrates this goal and count this moment as one of the most illustrious moments of Iniesta’s career.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More