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Howard Webb

Full name	Howard Melton Webb
Other occupation	Full-time referee Former police officer

Howard Melton Webb (born 14 July 1971) is an English football referee who operates in the Premier League and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2005. He lives in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Career

Webb first took up refereeing in local Rotherham leagues in 1989. He cites Rob Hewitt as a major influence in his decision to do so. In 1993, he progressed to the Northern Counties East League as an assistant referee, becoming a referee for that league two years later. In 1996, he was appointed as a Football League assistant referee, and, in 1998, fulfilled the same function in the Premier League, as well as being promoted to the Football Conference as a referee. In 2000, he was included on the National List of Football League referees, stepping up to the Select Group for the Premiership three years later. Again, Rob Hewitt is cited as a major contributor to Webb's passion for the game. His first game in the foremost English league was on 18 October 2003, when he took charge of the 0–0 draw between Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers He was appointed as a FIFA official in 2005.

FA Community Shield

Chelsea	2 – 1	Arsenal
Drogba 8' 57' Lampard Makélélé		Fàbregas 65' Fàbregas

Webb officiated the FA Community Shield game between League winners Chelsea and FA Cup winners Arsenal. Chelsea were 2–0 up through two Didier Drogba goals, by the time Cesc Fàbregas netted a goal for the Gunners twenty five minutes before the end. It was a tense finale, but the Blues held on to secure a 2–1 victory. Webb issued three cautions (to Frank Lampard, Claude Makélélé and Cesc Fàbregas) in a game that saw 11 substitutions. He was fourth official for the game the previous year between Arsenal and Manchester United.

First international match

Northern Ireland	1 – 1	Portugal
Feeney 54' Capaldi Gillespie Quinn		Craigan 41' (o.g.)

Webb's first international game was in November 2005, when Northern Ireland took on Portugal in a friendly match. The game ended 1–1, with the home side scoring both goals. Northern Ireland went one down just before the break through a Stephen Craigan own goal, but Warren Feeney salvaged a respectable draw by netting in the second half. Tony Capaldi, Keith Gillespie and James Quinn were booked for Northern Ireland.

FA Trophy Final

Grays Athletic	2 – 0	Woking
Oli 41' Poole 45'

Grays beat Woking 2–0 in this game, through goals from Dennis Oli and Glenn Poole, both just before half time. No players found their way into the book.

European Under-21 Championship

The 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifying rounds began in August 2004, with the finals taking place in May and June 2006. Webb officiated the Group A match which saw France beat Portugal 1–0, and the Group B game between Italy and Ukraine, which saw the Italians win thanks to a Giorgio Chiellini goal three minutes into second half stoppage time. Webb also took charge of one of the two semi finals, seeing Ukraine beat Serbia and Montenegro 5–4 on penalties, after a 0–0 draw. He was also appointed as fourth official for the final, which saw the Netherlands beat Ukraine 3–0.

First Champions League match

Steaua Bucharest	0 – 3	Lyon
Nicoliţă Oprita Ovidiu Petre		Fred 44' Tiago 55' Malouda 90' Toulalan

The Group E match between Steaua Bucharest and Lyon was Webb's first European appointment. The game finished 3–0 to Lyon, with four yellow cards being issued overall.

Carling Cup Final

Chelsea	2 – 1	Arsenal
Drogba 20' 84' Essien Carvalho Diarra Lampard Mikel		Walcott 12' Denilson Eboué Fàbregas Touré Adebayor

The Carling Cup final was certainly not a dull affair. Theo Walcott gave Arsenal the lead with a well taken finish early in the first half - his first goal for the London based club, but two Drogba goals gave Chelsea victory. The match ended with a large brawl, with most of the players on the pitch becoming involved. Managers José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger both entered the pitch in an attempt to calm the situation down. As a result of the melée, Webb sent off Mikel John Obi of Chelsea and Kolo Touré of Arsenal, and showed yellow cards to Frank Lampard and Cesc Fàbregas. After consulting his assistant, Webb also dismissed Emmanuel Adebayor. This was the first time that three red cards had been shown in a League Cup Final. Indeed, prior to this game only three red cards had been shown in all of the previous Finals. Later in the same year, Webb was selected to be the fourth official for the 2007 FA Cup Final, with Steve Bennett chosen as referee.

FIFA Under-20 World Cup

Webb was selected to officiate in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada during June and July, and was referee for the Group D game between Poland and Brazil at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal on 30 June. He then took charge of the Group C game between Mexico and Portugal at the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto on 5 July.

UEFA Euro 2008

In December 2007, Webb was selected as England's representative to referee in UEFA Euro 2008, with Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey as his assistants. On 12 June 2008, whilst refereeing in his first match of the tournament between Austria and Poland and with less than one minute left in stoppage time, he awarded Austria a penalty after he adjudged Poland's Mariusz Lewandowski to have pulled the shirt of Sebastian Prödl. The penalty was converted and the match finished 1–1. Leo Beenhakker, the coach of Poland, described the decision as "inconsistent with the rest of the tournament". Some commentators praised the decision, describing it as "brave". In the light of UEFA's instructions to referees about conduct at set pieces, the decision to award a penalty in such circumstances was considered a breakthrough in strict implementing the laws of the game by some commentators. UEFA official William Gaillard said the decision was not controversial and was correct. On 15 June, Webb was reported as saying that the only incorrect decision he made was to allow Poland's goal, which he said was offside. "To me 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," Webb said. In the same interview he also said that neither he nor his family, who remain in England, feel under threat. "I have not received any threats," he said.

On 18 June, Webb refereed his second game of Euro 2008 when he took charge of the Group D match in which Greece lost 1–2 to Spain. UEFA confirmed on 19 June that Webb had not been selected to referee matches in the knock-out stages of EURO 2008.

Superliga 2008

Webb was invited to referee the final of the North American Superliga between New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo on 5 August. New England won the match on penalties which took place at New England's home ground of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

FA Cup Final

Chelsea	2 – 1	Everton
Drogba 21' Lampard 72' Mikel Lampard		Saha 1' Hibbert Neville Baines

Webb took charge of the 128th 2009 FA Cup Final final of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition, the FA Cup. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 30 May 2009 and marked the third time that the final has been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested by Chelsea, who beat Arsenal 2–1 in their semi-final, and Everton who beat Manchester United 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after extra time. After Louis Saha opened the scoring after just 25 seconds, the fastest ever goal in an FA Cup Final, Didier Drogba equalised in the 21st minute before Frank Lampard scored the winner with 19 minutes left to play to give Chelsea their fifth FA Cup success. Webb cautioned Mikel and Lampard for Chelsea and showed yellow cards to Hibbert, Neville and Baines for Everton.

2009 Confederations Cup

In June 2009, Webb was one of the referees at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa where he took charge of two games. On the 15 June, in the match between Brazil and Egypt with the score line at 3–3 and in the final minute, he appeared to signal for a corner after Egypt's Ahmed Al-Muhammadi had handled the ball to prevent a goal. Webb then sent off the defender and gave a penalty which Brazil scored from and eventually go on and win 4–3, Egypt claimed that Webb took advice from the fourth official who may have seen a TV replay and awarded the penalty based on this information, but the complaint was later rejected by Fifa. He also refereed the 0–0 draw between Iraq and New Zealand in Johannesburg. Throughout the tournament, Webb wrote a regular blog on Refworld.com detailing his experiences as a referee whilst at the tournament in South Africa.

2010 UEFA Champions League Final

Bayern Munich	0 - 2	Inter Milan
Demichelis van Bommel		Milito 34', 70' Chivu

On 20 May 2010, Webb was announced as the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final referee. He showed yellow cards to Demichelis and van Bommel for Bayern and cautioned Chivu for Inter, who went on to win the match and the UEFA Champions League title – their first for 45 years – thanks to both goals by Inter striker Diego Milito.

2010 World Cup

On 24 October 2008, FIFA announced that Webb would be on the provisional list of referees for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On February 5, 2010, FIFA confirmed that Webb had been selected as a referee for the competition. He took charge of the Group H match between Spain and Switzerland.

Statistics

Yellow / red cards per game

Year	Games	Total	per game	Total	per game
2000–01	26	58	2.23	1	0.04
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	43	151	3.51	9	0.21
2007–08	38	128	3.37	2	0.05
2008–09	40	132	3.30	6	0.15
2009-10	35	124	3.54	4	0.11
Overall	368	1116	3.03	49	0.13

Cautions and dismissals

Webb issued at least one card in every game he refereed in both the 2002–03 and 2004–05 seasons. As a result, it meant that he had shown at least one card in every game he took charge of between 2 March 2002 (Oldham v. Colchester) and 27 September 2003 (Sunderland v. Reading) and 10 April 2004 (Lincoln v. Swansea) and 18 December 2005 (Middlesbrough v. Tottenham). Between 17 February and 17 March 2007, Webb showed five red cards, all in the 90th minute.

The first red card he showed in the Premier League was to Michael Svensson of Southampton in the 0–0 draw between Bolton Wanderers and Southampton on 8 November 2003. To date, the only current England international he has dismissed is Peter Crouch, when he was playing for Southampton against Crystal Palace on 7 May 2005.

Since the 2000–2001 season, he has issued two red cards in the same game three times, twice giving one red to either side, once reducing one team to nine men (Wimbledon). He sent three players off in the same match for the first time in the 2007 League Cup final, when Mikel John Obi of Chelsea, and Touré and Adebayor of Arsenal, were given their marching orders. He has sent two goalkeepers off; Kelvin Davis whilst playing for Wimbledon in 2001, and John Filan of Wigan in 2004. Webb has shown red cards in consecutive matches six times.

Most cards in a Premiership game

Fulham	2 – 1	Arsenal
McBride 6' Radzinski 19' Brown  31' Rosenior  36' Boa Morte  82' Helguson  82'		Van Persie 36' Song Billong  25' Senderos  40'  66' Rosický  43' Van Persie  71' Flamini  82'

Webb also issued ten cards in the 2007 Carling Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Premier League red cards by season

2003–04

• Southampton, Michael Svensson, second caution (86 minutes) v. Bolton Wanderers

2004–05

• Crystal Palace, Gonzalo Sorondo, violent conduct (59 minutes) v. Southampton
• Southampton, Peter Crouch, violent conduct (58 minutes) v. Crystal Palace

2005–06

• Charlton Athletic, Darren Ambrose, serious foul play (55 minutes) v. Sunderland
• Tottenham Hotspur, Michael Dawson, second caution (72 minutes) v. Fulham
• West Ham United, Hayden Mullins, violent conduct (82 minutes) v. Liverpool
• Liverpool, Luis García, violent conduct (82 minutes) v. West Ham United

2006–07

• Charlton Athletic, Djimi Traore, second caution (26 minutes) v. West Ham United
• Manchester City, Ousmane Dabo, violent conduct (80 minutes) v. Reading
• Arsenal, Philippe Senderos, second caution (66 minutes) v. Fulham
• Blackburn Rovers, David Bentley, second caution (90+ minutes) v. West Ham United

2007–08

• Fulham, Leon Andreasen, second caution (88 minutes) v. West Ham United

2008–09

• West Ham, Mark Noble, second caution (37 minutes) v. Manchester City
• Manchester United, Nemanja Vidić, second caution (90 minutes) v. Liverpool
• Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, second caution (68 minutes) v. Manchester City
• Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor, second caution (62 minutes) v. Liverpool
• Newcastle, Sébastien Bassong, violent conduct (60 minutes) v. Fulham

2009–10

• Burnley, Stephen Jordan, second caution (62 minutes) vs. Everton
• Wolverhampton, Richard Stearman, second caution (45 minutes) vs. Wigan
• Wigan, Hendry Thomas, second caution (67 minutes) vs. Wolverhampton

See also

• List of football referees

References

1. taken from an interview with Howard Webb on 22 January 2009 at Wickersley School and Sports College in Rotherham
2. Birthdate and biographical detail: Football League website.
3. ^ Detailed profile
4. First ever Premier League match: soccerbase.com website.
5. Confirmation of international status: FIFA.com Official website.
6. Arsenal v. Chelsea, FA Community Shield 2005 match report: TheFA.com website.
7. N. Ireland v. Portugal, friendly match 2005: BBC.co.uk article.
8. Grays Athletic v. Woking, FA Trophy Final 2006: Grays Athletic website.
9. France v. Portugal Under-21 match lineups from www.uefa.com
10. Italy v. Ukraine Under-21 match lineups from www.uefa.com
11. Ukraine v. Serbia and Montenegro Under-21 match lineups from www.uefa.com
12. Netherlands v. Ukraine Under-21 match lineups from www.uefa.com
13. First European appointment, match report at UEFA.com Official website.
14. Carling Cup Final, 2007: Match report at BBC.co.uk website.
15. Poland v. Brazil, 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup: FIFA.com website.
16. Mexico v. Portugal, 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup: FIFA.com website.
17. "Referee Webb chosen for Euro 2008". BBC Sport. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
18. "Austria 1–1 Poland". BBC Sport. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
19. "UEFA: Webb made correct call". itv Football. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
20. ^ "UEFA backs referee". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
21. Jones, Gareth (2008-06-14). "Polish PM wanted to 'kill' referee Webb after controversial last-gasp penalty". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
22. "You can put your shirt on Howard Webb". Times Online. London. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
23. "Uefa supports Webb over penalty". BBC Sport. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
24. "Webb to referee Greece against Spain". Guardian online. London. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
25. ""Greece 1–2 Spain"". BBC Sport. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
26. "Euro 2008 over for referee Webb". BBC Sport. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
27. Cheese, Caroline (30 May 2009). "Live text - FA Cup final". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
28. "Fifa rejects complaint over Webb". BBC Sport. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
29. "Iraq 0–0 New Zealand". FIFA.com. 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
30. "Refworld.com".
31. Howard Webb will referee the Champions League final
32. http://worldreferee.com/site/copy.php?linkType=referee&contextType=bio&linkID=501
33. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_16
34. Oldham v. Colchester match information from www.soccerbase.com
35. Sunderland v. Reading match information from www.soccerbase.com
36. Lincoln v. Swansea match information from www.soccerbase.com
37. Middlesbrough v. Tottenham match information from www.soccerbase.com
38. First red card in Premiership: SAINTSFC.co.uk website.
39. England international dismissed - Peter Crouch (2005): SAINTSFC.co.uk website.
40. Norwich v. MK Dons match information from www.soccerbase.com
41. Chelsea v. Arsenal match information from www.soccerbase.com
42. Kelvin Davis dismissal from www.soccerbase.com
43. John Filan dismissal from www.soccerbase.com
44. Michael Svensson dismissal: Telegraph.co.uk website.
45. Gonzalo Sorondo dismissal: Telegraph.co.uk website.
46. Peter Crouch dismissal: Telegraph.co.uk website.
47. Darren Ambrose dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
48. Michael Dawson dismissal: FootballStats.com website.
49. Hayden Mullins dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
50. Luis Garcia dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
51. Djimi Traore dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
52. Ousmane Dabo dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
53. Philippe Senderos dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
54. David Bentley dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.
55. Leon Andreasen dismissal: BBC.co.uk website.

External links

• Howard Webb Profile at Refworld.com
• Howard Webb Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com
• Rate Howard in the Euro 2008 Finals

• Living people
• 1971 births
• People from Rotherham
• British police officers
• English football referees
• 2010 FIFA World Cup referees