Referee Webb: World Cup Final Was Tough, I Feel Satisfied

English referee Howard Webb has said he has done a good job in handling Sunday's World Cup final between eventual winners Spain and the Netherlands.

Howard Webb, the first referee to officiate the European Champions League final and World Cup final in the same season, has been harshly criticized for dishing out 13 yellow cards and one red and sending off Dutch defender John Heitinga in a game marred by foul play.

“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,” he said in an official statement released through the Premier League.

“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.

“We don’t feel that we had much choice except to manage the game in the way we did. From early on in the match we had to make decisions that were clear yellow cards.

“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 and calm them down.

“We came away feeling satisfied that we’d done a tough job in difficult circumstances.”

Mike Riley, the head of the Premier League's refereeing association the Professional Game Match Officials board (PGMO), said Webb had performed well under trying circumstances.

"The final was without doubt one of the most difficult games Howard will have ever refereed," said Riley.

"On far too many occasions during the match the players showed little respect for the laws of the game and showed scant regard for the spirit of the game.

"In spite of these challenges, Howard and his team performed superbly, showing great resolve and courage in dealing with the many incidents in the game."

Jonathan Hall, the FA's director on the PGMO, added: "Nothing should take away from Howard's achievement and it is hard to imagine many other officials being able to match his performance or handle such a fixture so well.

"We are all thoroughly proud of the fact Fifa chose to recognise Howard at the very peak of his profession."

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