HOWARD WEBB: Players have their eye on going to the World Cup and referees are no different... doing the 2010 final was the ultimate honour (even if it was a bit tricky!)

PUBLISHED: 05:25 EST, 11 September 2013 | UPDATED: 05:25 EST, 11 September 2013

Howard Webb

Howard Webb is regarded as one of the top referees in world football. After plying his trade in the lower leagues during the mid-1990s, he made the step up to the top flight as an assistant referee in 1998, before taking charge of his first Premier League match five years later. He has been a FIFA-listed official since 2005 and in 2010 he was appointed to referee two of the biggest games in football – the Champions League final and the World Cup final. Before you read his Footballers' Football Column, watch his video below…

 

Many of the players who I will officiate this season in the Premier League and the Champions League will have one eye on the World Cup in the summer – and I am no different. Both Mark Clattenburg and myself are up for selection for the World Cup in Brazil and hopefully one of us will go.

I love being involved in tournaments and now my season is geared towards working hard to try and get that again next year by being selected for the World Cup, which would be my last involvement due to my age.

Making the call: Howard Webb awards a free kick to Norwich

Making the call: Howard Webb awards a free kick to Norwich

Explaining the situation: Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger reacts as he speaks to fourth official Webb

Explaining the situation: Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger reacts as he speaks to fourth official Webb

   

More from The Footballers' Column...


 

Players play for their club every weekend and their immediate focus is to win the game. But they will also have one eye on the national squad and they understand they are being watched all the time and monitored.

We are the same, how we do in Premier League or Champions League matches affect selection for the World Cup next year.

That is the ultimate aim for the season. You hope your performances are strong and you are in good form and you get selected for a tournament. The referees selected for the tournament are due to find out in February or March.

I was a referee at the Confederations Cup in the summer and that was a fantastic experience as was the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

The biggest honour of all as a referee is to be handed the World Cup final. There have only been 19 World Cup finals, so to referee one of them was a huge privilege.

It does not happen to many players and it happens to even fewer referees so when you get appointed as a World Cup final referee then you understand what a big occasion it is.

It capped off an amazing experience at the World Cup in South Africa and year in general.

It was a difficult game to referee, so much has been written about it but it was a challenging game and a very tough job on the night. But that does not take away anything from the game and I look back on it with fond memories.

I was also the referee for the Champions League final in the same year between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in Madrid and that went a lot more smoothly and we were able to remain anonymous for that game, which is what the aim is. If people don’t know who refereed a game then you have done your job, which is strange.

Sometimes though it is not possible to remain anonymous, even if that is your aim because of the nature of the game.

What can happen is if you try and keep a low profile in a game and not get involved then you can make a bigger problem.

When I have been close to selection for tournaments I have gone into games hoping there would be no controversies and get through the game quietly. But if a situation happens then it is up to the referee to stand up and be counted.

Top team: Referee Webb and his assistants Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann will take charge of Everton v Chelsea on Saturday

Top team: Referee Webb and his assistants Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann will take charge of Everton v Chelsea on Saturday

Howard Webb
Mark Clattenburg

Head to head: Webb and Mark Clattenburg are the two referees up for World Cup selection

Staying calm: Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov argues with Webb

Staying calm: Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov argues with Webb

On a few occasions I have not done and learned along the way that you are there to do a job. If a big decision needs to be made then it needs to be made and if you don’t make it then it inadvertently end up raising your profile by not doing the job.

If you make the call correctly and it is a clear one then no one really talks about you either because you have done the right thing. But if you don’t and try and keep your profile low then you can make a mistake.

Speaking of making mistakes, this season has seen the introduction of goalline technology in the Premier League. I think you will be hard pressed to find a referee who is anti goal line technology.

We are taking about a matter of fact and the answer as to whether the ball has crossed the line or not is definitive.

I had a bit of experience with it at the Confederations Cup, the system was not the same but it was very similar. There were not any controversial moments that needed the goalline technology, but it was reassuring to have it.

Tough game: Webb directs Spain's Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso away during a difficult World Cup final in South Africa

Tough game: Webb directs Spain's Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso away during a difficult World Cup final in South Africa

Making a big call: Webb shows John Heitinga a red card in the World Cup final

Making a big call: Webb shows John Heitinga a red card in the World Cup final

Difficult game to referee: Holland midfielder Nigel de Jong kicks Xabi Alonso in the stomach in the World Cup final

Difficult game to referee: Holland's Nigel de Jong kicks Xabi Alonso in the stomach in the World Cup final

It is like having an airbag in a car, you don’t need it for 99.99 per cent of the time because you don’t crash your car too often, but you need them there for the time there is an accident and it is reassuring.

One of the biggest issues in football at the moment is trying to present the game in a positive light.

What people involved in a game have to understand is that what happens on the pitch can influence the next generation. So we need to make sure that it is positive.

Diving is an issue that promotes football in a bad way and we have to make people understand what they are doing.

It is an issue and has been for a long time, but it is difficult to deal with and cut out completely because of the nature of it, we try and be as accurate as we can by getting in the right position, but you need a level of certainty to book someone for diving because you are calling them a cheat.

Another big game: Webb collects his medal from UEFA President Michel Platini after the 2010 Champions League final

Another big game: Webb collects his medal from UEFA president Michel Platini after the 2010 Champions League final

From time to time we as officials will get it wrong and then it leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth if a game has been won or lost on the back of a dive. Everyone involved needs to understand the damage that diving does to the game.

But only a small number of players are involved in simulation and if you look at the number of incidents that happen in a game and across thousands of games then simulation is a very small percentage.

But when it does happen it leaves a negative feeling. People can sort it out by not doing it.

Need to be certain: Webb says referees need to be sure a player has dived before booking them

Need to be certain: Webb says referees need to be sure a player has dived before booking them

When I speak at fans’ forums, people will say to me: ‘Why don’t you punish players who swear and the players who dive.’ The swearing issue, emotions are running high and players will sometimes overstep the mark with their language. But they have to understand where the line is.

With the added media exposure on the game, it is natural that referees will be scrutinised more. And there are a number of former officials working in the media and their job is to talk about referees and decisions made during games.

I think it is healthy when it is done with the intention of informing the public and bringing peoples attention the job of the referee and the processes we go through in making decisions.

When I see and read people like Graham Poll in the Daily Mail, and Dermot Gallagher on Sky Sports or talkSPORT then they are pretty supportive where they can be.

But if there is a mistake then it is only right that they flag it up, but if they can give some insight as to why that mistake might have happened, then that has to be beneficial.

New technology: Goal line technology has been introduced this season to make sure decisions are correct

New technology: Goal line technology has been introduced this season to make sure decisions are correct

In action: The goal line technology was called into use during the Chelsea v Hull game earlier this season

In action: The goal line technology was called into use during the Chelsea v Hull game earlier this season

Football is a sport but it is also an entertainment industry and people pay good money to go and watch and anything that can improve their experience or give them more of an insight has to be a good thing. But if I have made a mistake then I will know that.

I do watch programmes like Match of the Day and The Football League Show to see what is going on in other games and watch other referees and learn from them.

I will also watch my own games and I do listen to the criticism – if there is any. I hear it and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if I have made mistake then I will know I have made a mistake and don’t really need someone on TV confirming it for me, I know.

It does hurt, if you make a mistake then you drive home feeling pretty dejected about it and it can be painful for a few days and while you have not lost a point or two points, it still lives with you. Your reputation is something you care about as a referee.

  • Howard Webb is an ambassador for The FA’s 150th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, The FA is paying tribute to the hard work that goes into grassroots football with 400,000 volunteers, 300,000 coaches and 27,000 referees helping to keep the nation’s favourite game going. For more information visit www.TheFA.com

 

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The Ego has landed...in Rio and Clattenburg as well!!!

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Webb and Clatenburg as the two England referees for the World Cup? I bet Manchester United wish they could enter that competition. - BigJD, Los Angeles, United States, 12/9/2013 ............................. Why is it that there is no provision for one to give a million green arrows at once, cause that what I wish to give to you. If coward webb is the best referee in england, then goodness me.

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He said he only booked Nigel de Jong instead of sending him off because he didn't see the tackle as his view was obstructed. Fair enough, but how can you give a yellow card to someone if you've not seen what happened? I know he was under a lot of pressure in the final but he didn't help himself in that game. Having said that, that tackle was cowardly and deserved a red card.

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" Webb, the most over-rated ref in the world. Can't see a handball 5 yards from him." CabbageFace , Somewhere, United Kingdom, 11/9/2013 :::::::::::What are you talking about, he didn´t think a Buce Lee type karate kick with intentions to kill by De Jong in the final against Spain was a sending-ofgf offence, he gave a free-kick!!!! I reckon if the Dutch had started firing firearms in that game he still would have waved play on !!!

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An average referee at best !!! With an over inflated opinion of himself.

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Webb and Clatenburg as the two England referees for the World Cup? I bet Manchester United wish they could enter that competition.

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if his decisions are going to be scrutinised this season, maybe he will leave the utd autograph book at home this season

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Webb tarnished the good name of football in the World Cup final in 2010.....simply by toeing the FIFA line and not sending any Dutch player off........I wonder what rewards were had.......his actions were utterly hypocritical !

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Webb, the most over-rated ref in the world. Can't see a handball 5 yards from him. Utter Tripe.

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paul , uk, 11/9/2013 13:39 He failed to send quite a few people of in that game, and he also failed to dish out yellow card for their offenses as well. Holland had a legitimate goal perfectly disallowed as well. I know there was a lot of rubbish Howard Webb did in that game. If people believe that he is the best referee i.e. official in the country one has gotta have a laugh he is probably one of the worst him as well as Clattenburg, Mike Jones etc. Unfortunately, in the Premier League, there aren't many good officials left. Howard Webb was in charge of Norwich v Southampton before the International break, and he failed to give Norwich a blatant penalty and also failed to give Southampton a blatant penalty as well. I am sorry folks and the FA he is utter garbage to say the least, I hope everyone understands that. Pedro Proenca isn't a bad official the Portuguese official, and nor is the Turkish referee Cüneyt Çak¿r. I know back in the day Pierluigi Collina was the best of the l

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