 Webb in 2011 | |||
| Full name | Howard Melton Webb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1971-07-14)14 July 1971 (age 54) Rotherham, England | ||
| Other occupation | Police Officer withSouth Yorkshire Police | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1993–1995 | Northern Counties East | Assistant referee | |
| 1995–1998 | Northern Counties East | Referee | |
| 1996–1998 | Football League | Assistant referee | |
| 1998–2000 | Premier League | Assistant referee | |
| 1998–2000 | Football Conference | Referee | |
| 2000–2003 | Football League | Referee | |
| 2003–2014 | Premier League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2005–2014 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Howard Melton WebbMBE (born 14 July 1971)[1] is an English former professionalfootballreferee who officiated primarily in thePremier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as forFIFA as aFIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014.
Webb is counted amongst the all-time top referees by theInternational Federation of Football History and Statistics[2] and refereed a number of notable matches in England including theFA Cup final, theFA Community Shield and the final of theLeague Cup. In 2010, he became the first person to referee the finals of both theUEFA Champions League andFIFA World Cup in the same year.[3]
Throughout his professional career, Webb drew praise for his authoritative and respected approach to refereeing from football bodies, pundits, colleagues, players and managers.[4][5][6][7][8] He announced his retirement in August 2014 to become the technical director of theProfessional Game Match Officials Board.[9]
Webb was born to Sylvia and Billy Webb and grew up inRotherham, Yorkshire. His father was a referee for 35 years.[10] He went toBrinsworth Comprehensive School.[11]
Webb first took up refereeing in local leagues in 1989. In 1993, he progressed to theNorthern Counties East League as anassistant referee, becoming a referee for that league two years later.[citation needed]
In 1996, he was appointed as aFootball League assistant referee and, in 1998, fulfilled the same function in thePremier League, as well as being promoted to theFootball Conference as a full referee. He was a police officer withSouth Yorkshire Police but took sabbatical leave to concentrate on his refereeing.[12][13]
In 2000, Webb was included on the National List of Football League referees and three years later was promoted to the Select Group of professional referees who can take charge of Premier League games. His first game in the top tier of English football was on 18 October 2003 when he took charge of a 0–0 draw betweenFulham andWolverhampton Wanderers.[14] He was appointed to FIFA's international referees' list in 2005.[15]
Since then, Webb has been appointed to referee some of world football's highest-profile matches, including aUEFA Champions League final and aFIFA World Cup final.[3]
Webb officiated the2005 Community Shield atCardiff'sMillennium Stadium, the annual match between thePremier League winners and theFA Cup winners of the previous season. League winnersChelsea went 2–0 up through twoDidier Drogba goals, butCesc Fàbregas netted a goal for FA Cup winnersArsenal 25 minutes before the end. It was a tense finale, but Chelsea held on to secure a 2–1 victory. Webb issued threeyellow cards (toFrank Lampard,Claude Makélélé and Fàbregas) in a game that saw 11 substitutions.[16]
In May 2006, Webb took charge of theFA Trophy final atUpton Park in London.Grays Athletic beatWoking 2–0 through goals fromDennis Oli andGlenn Poole, both just before half-time.[17] No players found their way into the book.
The2007 Football League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was an incident-filled match. The match ended with a brawl, with most of the players on the pitch becoming involved. ManagersJosé Mourinho andArsène Wenger both entered the pitch in an attempt to calm the situation. As a result of the mêlée, Webbsent offMikel John Obi of Chelsea andKolo Touré andEmmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal, and showed yellow cards to Frank Lampard and Cesc Fàbregas.[18] This was the first time that three red cards had been shown in a League Cup final. Indeed, before this game, only three red cards had been shown in all of the previous finals.[citation needed]
Webb took charge of the2009 FA Cup final, the 128thfinal of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. It was played atWembley Stadium inLondon and was the third time that an FA Cup final had been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested by Chelsea andEverton, with Chelsea coming out on top to record their fifth FA Cup success. Webb cautioned Mikel John Obi and Frank Lampard of Chelsea andTony Hibbert,Phil Neville andLeighton Baines of Everton.[19]
Webb's first international game was atWindsor Park,Belfast, in November 2005 whenNorthern Ireland hostedPortugal in afriendly match. It ended 1–1 with the home side scoring both goals: Northern Ireland went 1–0 down just before half-time through aStephen Craigan own goal butWarren Feeney salvaged a draw by netting in the second half.Tony Capaldi,Keith Gillespie andJames Quinn were booked for Northern Ireland.[20]
The2006 European Under-21 Championship qualifying rounds began in August 2004, with the finals taking place in Portugal in May and June 2006. Webb officiated a group A match betweenFrance andPortugal, which the former won 1–0,[21] and a Group B match betweenItaly andUkraine, which the Italians won.[22] Webb also took charge of one of the two semi-finals, which saw Ukraine beatSerbia and Montenegro 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw.[23] He was also appointed fourth official for the final in Porto, where theNetherlands beat Ukraine 3–0.[24]
A UEFA Champions League group match on 26 September 2006 betweenSteaua București andLyon was Webb's first European appointment. The match, played at theGhencea Stadium inBucharest, finished 3–0 to Lyon, with Webb issuing four yellow cards during the course of the match.[25]
Webb was selected to officiate at the2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada and his first appointment was aGroup D match between Poland and Brazil atMontreal'sOlympic Stadium.[26] He then took charge of agroup C game between Mexico and Portugal at theNational Soccer Stadium inToronto[27] and agroup A match between Canada and Congo at theCommonwealth Stadium inEdmonton.[28] Webb was retained for the knock-out stage of the tournament, and refereed aquarter-final in Montreal where Chile defeated Nigeria 4–0 with all four goals being scored inextra time.[29]
In December 2007, Webb was selected as England's representative to referee atUEFA Euro 2008, with Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey as his assistants.[30] Whilst refereeing his first match of the tournament, aGroup B match betweenAustria andPoland, and with less than one minute left in stoppage time, he awarded Austria a penalty kick after he adjudged Poland'sMariusz Lewandowski to have pulled the shirt ofSebastian Prödl. The penalty was converted and the match finished 1–1.[31] UEFA officialWilliam Gaillard said the decision was not controversial and was correct.[32] Webb said that "the penalty was clear and I hope that people later will look at it and realise it was the only decision that could be taken".[33] Webb refereed his second game of Euro 2008 when he took charge of aGroup D match in whichGreece lost 2–1 toSpain.[34]UEFA stated on 19 June that Webb had not been selected to referee matches in the knock-out phase of the tournament.[35]
Webb was handed a one-week demotion to theFootball League Championship from officiating in the Premier League in April 2009 after he awardedManchester United apenalty kick while they trailed 2–0 toTottenham Hotspur. The penalty was converted and United went on to win the match 5–2. Webb later admitted he had made "a mistake" but had awarded the penalty "honestly".[36][37]
In June 2009, Webb was one of the referees at the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, where he took charge of two games: A 4–3 win forBrazil overEgypt,[38] and a 0–0 draw betweenIraq andNew Zealand.[39] Throughout the tournament, Webb wrote a regular blog detailing his experiences as a referee while at the tournament.[40]
In May 2010, Webb was announced as the referee for the2010 Champions League final at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium inMadrid.[41] He showed yellow cards toMartín Demichelis andMark van Bommel ofBayern Munich and cautionedCristian Chivu ofInter Milan. Inter won the match 2–0 through two goals by strikerDiego Milito.[citation needed]
In December 2011, Webb was named one of the 12 referees selected by UEFA to take charge of games atEuro 2012. He was in charge of aGroup A fixture betweenRussia andCzech Republic on the opening day inWrocław, aGroup C fixture betweenItaly andCroatia inPoznań, and aquarter-final between the Czech Republic and Portugal inWarsaw.[citation needed]
Webb was selected as a referee for the2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. He refereed aGroup A match inFortaleza betweenMexico and Brazil, which ended in a 2–0 win for the home nation; Webb issued five cautions.[citation needed]
On 24 October 2008, FIFA announced that Webb was on the provisional list of referees for the2010 World Cup in South Africa[42] and later confirmed that Webb had been selected as a referee for the finals. Webb took charge of aGroup H match between Spain andSwitzerland inDurban, where Switzerland stunned Spain with a 1–0 win;[43] aGroup F match between Italy andSlovakia inJohannesburg, which also resulted in an upset as Slovakia won and ended Italy's reign as world champions;[44] and around of 16 knockout match between Brazil andChile, also in Johannesburg.[45]
Webb refereed theWorld Cup final between theNetherlands and Spain.[46] He was assisted by Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey in Johannesburg'sSoccer City stadium.[47] Webb was the first English referee to take charge of a World Cup final sinceJack Taylor in1974 – a game in which the Netherlands lost toWest Germany.[48] Webb issued 14 yellow cards, including two to the Netherlands'John Heitinga who was subsequently sent off, more than doubling the former record of six yellows for a World Cup final, set in1986.[49]
The match was seen as a very difficult one to referee.[50][51][52] The Dutch were criticised for their rough play,[53][54] and some thought Webb was generous for not showing any red cards to the Dutch players until ten minutes before the end of extra time.[55][56] Webb later conceded that had he had a better viewing angle of a high challenge fromNigel de Jong he would have sent him off,[57] and De Jong later admitted he was "lucky" to only receive a yellow card.[58] FIFA presidentSepp Blatter defended Webb, noting that it was "not easy" to control such a match. Former Premier League refereeJeff Winter said Webb "had a superb game"[59] while Scotland'sAlan Hansen condemned the Dutch, saying that, "Webb tried to make the game flow but on this occasion he was left with no choice."[56] The British Referees' Association said "it would be almost impossible to disagree with any of the bookings he issued",[60] while former FA Cup final refereeKeith Hackett noted that "anyone who criticises the officials lacks the knowledge and experience of someone who has refereed" and called on FIFA to punish the Dutch players who castigated Webb to the press.[61]
Webb took charge of three qualifiers for the2014 World Cup. He refereed theUEFA qualification group D match betweenTurkey andRomania in October 2012 inIstanbul,[62] theGroup E match betweenNorway and Switzerland in September 2013 inOslo[63] and theGroup A match between Croatia andBelgium in October 2013 inZagreb.[64] In January 2014, it was announced that Webb had been included on the referees' list for the finals in Brazil.[65]
On 19 June, he officiated theGroup C match betweenColombia and theIvory Coast inBrasília.[66] Webb also refereed the firstknockout match on 28 June between Brazil and Chile inBelo Horizonte. Host nation Brazil won a penalty shootout 3–2 after the game finished 1–1 after extra-time.[67]
On 6 August 2014, the Premier League announced that Webb had retired from active refereeing in order to take up the role of technical director of theProfessional Game Match Officials Board. Webb said, "Refereeing has given me so much and I think it's important that match officials who have had the rewards remain in the game to pass on their knowledge."[9]
Webb then became director of referees for theSaudi Arabian Football Federation, while also joiningBT Sport as an analyst. After resigning his position with SAFF in January 2017 – to be replaced byMark Clattenburg – it was announced that from March 2017 he would become the Manager of Video Assistant Referee Operations forMajor League Soccer'sProfessional Referee Organization.[68]
In August 2022 it was announced that Webb would return to theProfessional Game Match Officials Limited as chief refereeing officer.[69]
Webb refereed 296Premier League matches, 43 in theFA Cup, 36 in theChampions League, 19 in theEFL Cup, 6 inWorld Cups, 5 inEuropean Championships, and 4 inConfederations Cups.[70]
| Season | Games | Total | per game | Total | per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 26 | 58 | 2.23 | 1 | 0.038 |
| 2001–02 | 32 | 69 | 2.16 | 5 | 0.16 |
| 2002–03 | 39 | 145 | 3.72 | 4 | 0.10 |
| 2003–04 | 34 | 92 | 2.94 | 9 | 0.26 |
| 2004–05 | 34 | 100 | 2.94 | 2 | 0.06 |
| 2005–06 | 47 | 117 | 2.49 | 7 | 0.15 |
| 2006–07 | 45 | 156 | 3.47 | 9 | 0.20 |
| 2007–08 | 46 | 166 | 3.61 | 4 | 0.09 |
| 2008–09 | 48 | 158 | 3.29 | 6 | 0.13 |
| 2009–10 | 45 | 177 | 3.93 | 5 | 0.11 |
| 2010–11 | 45 | 141 | 3.13 | 6 | 0.13 |
| 2011–12 | 51 | 167 | 3.28 | 5 | 0.10 |
| 2012–13 | 42 | 148 | 3.52 | 5 | 0.12 |
| Total | 534 | 1,694 | 3.17 | 68 | 0.13 |
Statistics for all competitions including domestic, European and international. Records prior to 2000–01 are not available.[71]
Webb issued at least one card in every game he refereed in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 seasons. The first red card he showed in thePremier League was toMichael Svensson ofSouthampton for a second bookable offence in a 0–0 draw atBolton Wanderers on 8 November 2003.[72] The 2003–04 season saw Webb issue his highest proportion of red cards yet: nine in 34 games. Between 17 February and 17 March 2007, he showed five red cards all in the 90th minute of matches.
In four fixtures since the 2000–01 season he has issued two red cards in the same game, three times dismissing one player from either side, and once reducing one team (Wimbledon in December 2001) to nine men.[73] He has once shown three red cards in the same match: the2007 Football League Cup Final.[citation needed]
Webb has sent off two goalkeepers since 2000–01:Kelvin Davis of Wimbledon in December 2001[74] andJohn Filan ofWigan Athletic in March 2004.[75]
Webb was married and has three children. He and his first wife separated in 2016.[citation needed] He is in a relationship withBibiana Steinhaus, a German Bundesliga referee,[76] whom he married in March 2021.[77]
He was a sergeant in theSouth Yorkshire Police before turning professional as a referee. He was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2011 New Year Honours for services to football.[78][79]
He is aRotherham United supporter.[80][81]
In June 2011, Webb was made president of the Baris Northern Counties East Football League, a league in which he had once officiated.[82] In July 2011 he received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from theUniversity of Bedfordshire.[83] In November 2011 he also gained an honorary degree fromYork St John University as a Doctor of Health Sciences.[84]
He began his career in policing in 1993 and took a five-year career break in 2008 to focus on refereeing. He returned to theSouth Yorkshire Police in April 2013.[85]
| Date | Title | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 August 2017 | The Man in the Middle: The Autobiography of the World Cup Final Referee[86] | Simon & Schuster UK | 978-1-4711-5977-8 |
Sporting positions Howard Webb | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Referee | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2010 UEFA Champions League Final Referee | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2009 FA Cup Final | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2007 Football League Cup Final | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2006 FA Trophy Final | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2005 FA Community Shield | Succeeded by |
Men's winners
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
