Howard Webb :We did our best

Taken from Football365.com an interview with Howard Webb, referee of Sunday's World Cup Final which was a tempestuous affair littered with player misconduct throughout, all of which was sensitively managed by the man from Rotherham. The interview is as follows ...

English referee Howard Webb has no regrets over his handling of Sunday's "extremely challenging" World Cup final between Spain and Holland.

The Yorkshireman arrived home from South Africa on Tuesday with his assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey to a barrage of media interest in their performance in the final at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

Webb has come in for criticism from both the Dutch and Spanish camps after he handed out 14 yellow cards and sent off Holland defender John Heitinga during Spain's fractious 1-0 win.

"Whatever the match, you always hope that the officials won't need to be heavily involved. However, we had to raise our profile in order to keep control," Webb said in a statement released through the Premier League this evening.

"We don't feel that we had much choice except to manage the game in the way we did. We came away feeling satisfied that we'd done a tough job in difficult circumstances to the best of our abilities.

"It was an extremely challenging match to handle, but it would have been so for any referee. It is one of the toughest games we will ever be involved in and we feel that we worked hard to keep the focus on the football as much as possible."

The Dutch players have been widely criticised for their behaviour during the final, during which Bert van Marwijk's side committed a rash of heavy-handed challenges.

Holland were fortunate not to lose midfielder Nigel de Jong to a straight red card in the first half for a high challenge on Xabi Alonso. But, despite Webb's leniency on that occasion, his performance nevertheless incensed the Dutch, and he was confronted by several players after the final whistle.

"From early on in the match we had to make decisions that were clear yellow cards," Webb continued.

"We tried to apply some common sense officiating given the magnitude of the occasion for both sides - advising players early on for some of their tackling, sending players away when they were surrounding the officials, and speaking to their senior colleagues to try to calm them down."

Despite the furore that has followed Sunday's final, Webb insists he has come away from South Africa harbouring "amazing memories".

"It was a marvellous honour to have been selected for the tournament and we had a wonderful six weeks in South Africa," he said.

"The people made us feel really welcome and we've hugely enjoyed the experience of being involved in such an incredible and unique event.

"We left the 2010 World Cup with amazing memories.

"We have been overwhelmed by the support of the public, the media, friends, colleagues, players and managers before and after the final.

"It was a massive honour and a privilege to take charge of the World Cup final. It is something every referee dreams of and to fulfil that dream was a remarkable feeling."

People within the English game have been quick to leap to the defence of the 39-year-old Rotherham official amid the fallout from the game, and Webb himself has no concerns about the overall display of his team.

"Mike and Darren made some terrific calls and I thought the decisions made by my team throughout the tournament were excellent," said Webb. "It's because of the quality of the team work that we were appointed to the final.

"We leave the tournament pleased with how we performed, honoured to be given the final and privileged to have met so many wonderful people in South Africa.

"We're all looking forward to a little bit of a rest and then coming back fresh for the new Barclays Premier League season."

The Final

... kicks off in about 1 minute. Good luck to all involved, especially the English one. Very proud moment for English refereeing and this final looks like it could be a classic.

No commentary tonight, just enjoyment ...

OK maybe a little. I thought this was a "proper" game of football with two very good managers trying to out-think each other. Some refereeing decisions which I didn't entirely agree with, but I could understand why they were made. I thought the teamwork between the officials was fantastic. The goal by Iniesta was sublime. Viva España - los campeones del mundo!

Webb savouring "ultimate honour"

Our hopes and prayers are with Howard Webb, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey for tomorrow's World Cup Final. Here they speak about the honour of their appointment (taken from Football365.com).

Howard Webb has spoken of the "ultimate honour" of being chosen to referee Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and Holland.

Webb, supported by his assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey, will become the first English referee of a World Cup final since Jack Taylor in 1974.

Former police sergeant Webb, 38, told reporters in Pretoria: "We are delighted to have been selected for the game, it is a wonderful honour and a privilege. It is the ultimate honour for a referee.

"We are proud to be representing the English FA as well as FIFA and all the other officials here at the World Cup.

"We will be proud to be able to show the ability and quality of match officials in England when we take to the field tomorrow evening.

"This is the World Cup, and it's massively important for the world. We understand the importance of the game and we will need total focus and concentration.

"We will try to be a calming influence where we can and use all our experience of being involved in big games."

The three fathers of Webb, from Rotherham, Cann, from Norfolk, and Mullarkey, from Exeter, will be at the Soccer City stadium on Sunday to watch the game. The trio of dads, all former refs, have been at all of their sons' three matches of the World Cup so far.

Mullarkey said all three officials were close to tears when they were told they had been chosen for the final.

He said: "We had not been chosen for any of the quarter-finals or the semi-finals so you do start to wonder about things.

"When we were actually told it was an incredible moment. When I was sitting at home watching the 2006 World Cup on television I never envisaged that I would be here doing the final.

Cann added: "This is the culmination of 20 years' hard work and is the greatest honour we can receive as match officials.

"It was a very emotional moment in truth when we were told. When match number 64 was read out and the name Webb that was what we were waiting for. Everything became a blur for a few seconds and neither Mike nor I can remember hearing our names read out afterwards."

Well Done to the team from England

Howard Webb, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey have been appointed as the match officials for the World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain which will be played on Sunday, July 11.

Well done team!