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Swedish referee Frisk retires following death threats
Swedish referee Anders Frisk announced his retirement following death threats from Chelsea supporters after their Champions League match against Barcelona at the Nou Camp last month.
Chelsea went on to win the last 16 clash with a 4-2 home victory after their 2-1 defeat in Spain on February 23 when Chelsea fans threatened to kill him in messages by telephone, e-mail and the post.
"The game is just not worth all that," 42-year-old Frisk said on the Swedish football federation website. "The safety of my family is more important than anything."
He told the Aftonbladet newspaper: "I received threats by telephone, e-mail and the post. I have a big family and I am very worried. Anything could happen."
Frisk, one of the top-rated referees in the world, had given Chelsea striker Didier Drogba a second yellow card in the 56th minute, effectively sending him off, while Barcelona were 1-0 down.
The Swede decided he raised his foot too high in a challenge on Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes early in the second-half though Drogba later claimed he had not touched the player.
Drogba's dismissal aroused the anger of Chelsea fans and of manager Jose Mourinho who claimed Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard had entered Frisk's changing room during the break.
"I have so much experience that everyone should understand that I would never let a coach enter my changing room during a match," Frisk added.
Frisk said he did not understand how a correctly given second yellow card and a friendly handshake with the home coach could bring about such drama.
In September last year, Frisk had also been in the middle of an incident during the Champions League match between AS Roma and Dynamo Kiev.
Frisk abandoned the match while the Ukrainian club were leading 1-0 after being hit by a projectile thrown from the stands during the half-time break at the Olympic stadium in Rome.
Roma were later handed a 3-0 defeat by European football's governing body UEFA and ordered to play two home matches behind closed doors.
Frisk has refereed 132 international matches and appeared at three European championship finals (1996, 2000, 2004) and one World Cup finals (2002). He also officiated at 214 Swedish first division matches.
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