#8 Four denied penalties rob Chelsea of the 2009 Champions League
Four years after Luis Garcia’s ghost goal, Chelsea found themselves mired in controversy in the Champions League semi-finals again, this time against Barcelona. Again, the tie was on a knife-edge going into the second leg after a 0-0 first leg at the Nou Camp.
Chelsea took the lead early on through a Michael Essien goal and remained on top through the remainder of the game, but they were unable to gain a further lead – mainly due to the questionable performance from referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.
The Blues had four clear penalty claims denied – firstly Florent Malouda and then Didier Drogba were both bundled over in the box, only for Ovrebo to allow play to continue. Worse, in the second half, the Norwegian official somehow missed a clear handball from Gerard Pique.
Finally, in injury time, Andres Iniesta equalised, putting Barca ahead via away goals. And even after that, to rub salt into Chelsea’s wounds, another handball – this time from Samuel Eto’o – went ignored, sending Barca through to the final.
Chelsea’s players were incensed – Didier Drogba famously went on a foul-mouthed rant at a TV camera post-match – but the result stood. With the use of video replays, though? There’s no doubt that Chelsea would’ve emerged winners.
