Full name Tom Henning Ovrebo 1994–2010 FIFA Years League Name Tom Ovrebo | 1992–2013 Tippeligaen Role Referee Years League Other occupation Psychology | |
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Born 26 June 1966 (age 57)
Oslo, Norway ( 1966-06-26 ) | ||
Tom Henning Øvrebø interview *English subtitles*: "Everyone can see mistakes were made"
Tom Henning Øvrebø (born 26 June 1966) is a Norwegian former football referee. Born in Oslo, Øvrebø has been a UEFA Elite referee, having refereed matches in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League. He has worked as a qualified psychologist outside of football.
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Career
Øvrebø has refereed over 200 games in the Norwegian Premier League since his debut on 20 September 1992. He represents the club Nordstrand. In 1994, he became an authorised FIFA referee. He won the Kniksen award as referee of the year in the Norwegian Premier League for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. He refereed the Norwegian Cup finals of 1999 (Rosenborg–Brann) and 2006 (Fredrikstad–Sandefjord).
Øvrebø was chosen to referee at Euro 2008 — his first major tournament and the first time he was chosen over fellow countryman and colleague Terje Hauge. He refereed the Germany–Poland match on the opening day of Group B. He refereed the Italy–Romania match, which resulted in a 1–1 draw.
Subsequently, Øvrebø was one of six referees not assigned a match in the knockout stages of Euro 2008.
Øvrebø handled the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg between Chelsea and Barcelona on 6 May 2009. He was verbally abused by several Chelsea players on the field, including Didier Drogba and José Bosingwa. Øvrebø was later escorted out of England by police in fears for his safety after receiving a number of death threats. Chelsea distanced themselves from these threats "Following media reports claiming threats have been made against the referee, Chelsea Football Club would like to make clear that it condemns any form of threat against players, officials or supporters". Drogba was subsequently banned for four matches, while Bosingwa was banned for three matches. Chelsea were fined £85,000 for improper conduct on the part of Chelsea players and fans. Øvrebø has admitted he is still the subject of abuse from Chelsea and Madrid fans.
In the group stages of qualification for the 2010 World Cup, Øvrebø refereed the Armenia-Turkey, Belgium-Spain and the Slovakia-Czech Republic matches. On 10 October 2009, Øvrebø refereed the Greece-Latvia match. Øvrebø was among the 14 pre-selected referees from UEFA for the final stages in South Africa, but did not make the final cut of 10 representatives from Europe.
He ended his international career debut in May 2010 but continued to officiate in the Norwegian Premier League. During the 2013 season, Øvrebø only officiated matches in the Norwegian Cup and the Norwegian First Division due to a knee-injury.
In October 2013, Øvrebø announced his retirement from professional refereeing.