The Hindu : Sport / Football : Referee caught off-side

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Sport

Sport - Football

Referee caught off-side

OSLO (Norway) : A Norwegian referee caused a stir on Tuesday by appearing in a photograph wearing a Barcelona shirt, a day before he was due to officiate the team's Champions League final against Arsenal.

Assistant referee Ole Hermann Borgan was pictured wearing Barcelona colours in his local newspaper, Drammens Tidende. He acknowledged it was a bad idea and insisted it did not indicate he favoured the Spanish club.

``It was very unwise,'' Borgan said. ``The newspaper asked if I had both uniforms, Barcelona and Arsenal. I said 'No, I don't. I only have the Barcelona one.'''

Borgan said the paper, which was doing a story about him being a championship referee, asked him to pose in the shirt.

``I didn't think any more about it until I started getting phone calls early this morning,'' he said on state radio network NRK. ``I don't have either Barcelona or Arsenal as a favourite team.''

Norway's Terje Hauge, who will be the main referee in the final at Stade de France outside Paris, said it was ``not very smart of Borgan to pose in one of the finalists' uniforms.'' — AP

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