Norwegian backing for Ovrebo

THE head of Norway’s refereeing union, Rune Pedersen, is confident Tom Henning Ovrebo, the referee blamed for Chelsea’s Champions League exit, will ride out the storm of criticism and not cave in to demands that he quit his job.

Four years ago, referee Anders Frisk gave up his whistle two weeks after Chelsea claimed the Swede’s decision had cost them a Champions League tie against Barcelona, but Pedersen has said that Ovrebo is made of sterner stuff and is not prepared to quit.

“He will cope with this. It helps that he is a qualified psychologist who runs his own firm, but he showed that by staying calm under provocation,” he said.