Worstest referee - Rothlisberger vs. Tom Henning Overdo

Although I have sympathy for Chelski and their supporters, apart for the cheats Ballack and Drogba, and Cashley Cole of course, the poor refereeing was not the worst experienced. Time and again that dishonour fell to a Swiss cheat called Kurt Rothlisberger. Even UEFA banned him for life, supposedly only because Rothlisberger suggested to Grasshoppers a colleague could be bribed. However, we know that UEFA would not ban the man who was their top referee for life if there was not much more going on. One rumour was that Rothlisberger offered a bribe to the Spanish referee of a World Cup qualifying match between Switzerland and Norway. Switzerland lost 1-0 in the end.

Rothlisberger was a german speaking referee who in the 1994 World Cup refereed the Fatherland versus Belgium and failed to award a blatant penalty that would have allowed the Belgians to draw, and thence qualify for the next round. This was a ref who made terrible decisions in the Manchester United vs. Galatasary Champions League game and sent off Cantona when he politely inquired if he was a cheat. No mention or protection for the United players in the referee’s or UEFA’s report when the Turkish police assaulted the team after the game. Turkey is not known for its high standing in the transparency and anti-corruption standings of countries’ business dealings. Rothlisberger refereed the 1993 European Cup final between Marseille and Milan. Hmm, Marseille were stripped of the French title and relegated for bribing a referee in the game before the European Cup Final. A game that they won 1-0.

So, for bad refereeing, we really must start a review with Rothlisberger. At the time, we were told he was simply a referee that made bizarre errors, even though it was to the continuing benefit of one team. Now we know better, and he was a cheat. At least Tom Henning Overdo was consistently poor, and that is the magnifying glass through which we should examine the men in black.