The end of Ovrebo (as a CL ref)

Setanta

I was watching this on Setanta Sports and the two British commentators were clearly not watching this in the stadium. They had no idea what was happening outside the range of their monitor, like when Bayern got a penalty and we were looking at Ovreb's face not knowing what he had decided, not able to see Robben getting ready to kick.

But

was it a penalty? And why whistle so quickly? Why not wait a split second, see what happens, see if there is an advantage situation. There was and it was a goal. Luckily Robben kicked in the penalty, otherwise this would have been the end of Ovrebo.

red

Gobbi had been fouling a lot, most of the time going after Robben. Then suddenly he was red carded, probably on the assistant's advice. The replay showed Gobbi hitting Robben with his elbow. I'm sure Ovrebo had had enough of the guy, but if he had booked him before, he could just have shown him a second yellow, no controversy there. Now there will be, but I agree with it and I think UEFA will too.

no red

Klose could have been sent off, coming from far with his leg sticking out straight ahead of him, and possibly Van Bommel (first half) as well. (Actually Van Bommel could be sent off in every match). But I say "could" because Ovrebo was a lot closer than I and one could argue that Klose actually retracted his leg a bit near impact. Ovrebo booked them. But these fouls were bad.

off side goal

wow!

out

Ovrebo must have sat in his dressing room realizing the gravity of the situation. No way he will get another match on this level. You can see the assessor coming in, clearing his throat. Ovrebo holding up a hand: I know what you are going to say, you don't have to....

match

This must have been Ovrebo's last Champions League match. It wasn't a bad match at all, a bit ruined by the ref and that assistant, but you could argue that ref's mistakes are all part of the fun. Fiorentina, Mutu-less, were slightly the better team, but it was great to see Robben and Ribery play.