Referee Admits His 'Mistakes' Cost Chelsea Their Place in the 2009 Champions League Final

It would be fair to say that Tom Henning Ovrebo is not a very popular man at Stamford Bridge.

The referee has shouldered the blame for Chelsea missing out on the 2009 Champions League final ever since his woeful performance after being handed the responsibility of officiating their semi-final clash against Barcelona that year.

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The Blues had several decisions go against them which simply shouldn't have on that infamous night at the Bridge. And with the Spanish side set to return there for the first time since 2012, Ovrebo has admitted that he made mistakes which possibly cost the Londoners a place in the final.

“It was not my best day, really,” he said in quotes cited by talkSPORT. “But those mistakes can be committed by a referee... and sometimes a player or a coach. Some days you're not at the level you should be.

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“I can't be proud of that performance.

“They were handball situations. I judged them on the pitch and I think it is not interesting to know what I think of those actions once judged, although I understand that people think differently to the decisions I made at the time.

“That discussion will continue eternally.”

Ovrebo failed to award Chelsea a single penalty that night despite four clear, deserving incidents, leading former Blues striker Didier Drogba to brand him "a f******g disgrace" on live television after the match.

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“I was responsible for the decisions that were made and we can argue that, if I had taken others, maybe Chelsea would have qualified for the final," Ovrebo continued.

“We will never know. I made decisions and they were not the best. But it is difficult to say if, without that arbitration, Barcelona would have been eliminated or not.”