Controversial Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo has quit international refereeing after he was ignored for the upcoming World Cup.
Ovrebo, 43, received death threats in 2008 when he denied Chelsea several penalty shouts in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona.
He continued to court headlines in this year's competition, when he allowed a Miroslav Klose goal in the first leg quarter-final meeting between Bayern Munich and Fiorentina to stand when the striker was clearly offside and then later declined to send the same player off for a dangerous tackle.
Speaking to Reuters today, he insisted his retirement after officiating 23 matches in Europe's top club tournament, plus numerous internationals was "no big drama", as next year he would have been over UEFA's age limit.
"This is based on signals Norway's Football Association got from UEFA about prospects for further assignments," Ovrebo said.
"Some will remember me for the Chelsea-Barcelona game in particular, but I can live well with that."
Ovrebo, 43, received death threats in 2008 when he denied Chelsea several penalty shouts in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona.
He continued to court headlines in this year's competition, when he allowed a Miroslav Klose goal in the first leg quarter-final meeting between Bayern Munich and Fiorentina to stand when the striker was clearly offside and then later declined to send the same player off for a dangerous tackle.
Speaking to Reuters today, he insisted his retirement after officiating 23 matches in Europe's top club tournament, plus numerous internationals was "no big drama", as next year he would have been over UEFA's age limit.
"This is based on signals Norway's Football Association got from UEFA about prospects for further assignments," Ovrebo said.
"Some will remember me for the Chelsea-Barcelona game in particular, but I can live well with that."
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