Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Say his name to Chelsea fans and they will probably shudder at hearing those three words after his infamous and controversial refereeing display when Chelsea took on Barcelona nearly nine years ago at Stamford Briidge.

Back on May 6 2009, the Norwegian was the man in the middle as the Blues and Barca played out a riotous 1-1 draw in the Champions League semi final second leg, with the referee turning down four blatant penalties for the home side as they were knocked out of the competition.

Andres Iniesta smacked home a late screamer to break Chelsea hearts deep in stoppage time after Michael Essien had smashed Chelsea into a ninth-minute lead.

Ovrebo had sent off Barca’s Eric Abidal before Iniesta’s late winner but the game will be remembered for Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack chasing after the referee having seen a handball shout turned down in the 95th minute against Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba’s x-rated outburst to the TV cameras at full time.

Reflecting on that game in an interview with Marca, Ovrebo opened up on that fateful night at the Bridge, what was going through his mind and admitted he made mistakes.

The Norwegian said: “It was not my best day, really. 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.

“But no, I can’t be proud of that performance.

“There were several errors and everyone will have their opinion of those plays. But, I insist, the players and the coaches also fail, and nothing happens. I am proud of having had a long career and having been in the European elite for a while, and among the best in my country at least.”

Ovrebo waved off penalty claims from the home side four times throughout the game which eventually led to Ballack blowing his gasket in injury time.

The first was when Barca right back Dani Alves hacked down Florent Malouda in the box but Ovrebo gave a free kick. Next, he denied the Blues a spot kick as Abidal dragged back Drogba – almost ripping his shirt off – but no spot kick was given.

Then, he turned down a penalty when Nicolas Anelka was tripped by Yaya Toure but gave nothing. Following that was the blatant handball from Gerard Pique in the area before the Eto’o handball which saw Ballack absolutely lose it.

Watch it here and make up your own mind…