England may have had a disastrous World Cup, but for three Englishmen the tournament will end on a high (England 9/1 to win Euro 2012).
Rotherham-born Howard Webb has been chosen to referee Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Holland in Johannesburg (Holland 13/5, draw 12/5, Spain 21/20).
The 38-year-old will be joined by his English assistants, Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann.
Webb is the first Englishman to referee the final since Jack Taylor took charge of the Holland v West Germany game in 1974.
He has refereed three World Cup matches in South Africa and has neither shown a red card nor awarded a penalty.
However, Webb has handed out an average of 5.67 bookings per game – the second highest tally in the tournament.
Webb made his World Cup finals debut in Spain’s shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland.
He was also in charge for Slovakia’s 3-2 victory against Italy and was praised for his handling of a dramatic finale to the match.
Taylor said Webb had been “almost perfect” in the three games he has officiated so far.
“I’ve known Howard for a long time,” Taylor told the BBC. “I’ve seen him as a young referee and I’ve seen him come through, I’ve seen his ability.
“He’s had three games and he’s been almost perfect.
“He’s fit, he’s strong, he’s diplomatic, he reads the game terribly well, in my opinion they couldn’t pick a better man.”
Webb’s achievement comes off the back of a highly successful season for him and his assistants after they officiated the Champions League final in May when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid.
Premier League referees chief Mike Riley says those experiences mean all three men will be more than prepared for such a high-profile match.
“As a team they will be prepared for the challenges and I’m sure they will be more than looking forward to the occasion,” he told the BBC.
Webb, a former police officer from Rotherham, started officiating in the Northern Counties League in the mid-1990s.
He has been a Premier League referee since 2003 and took charge of the 2007 Carling Cup final and the 2009 FA Cup final.
One of Webb’s assistants, Mullarkey, recently revealed how Fifa training sessions had included preparation for the noise of the vuvuzelas in South Africa.
Mullarkey said: “When we’re doing our training exercises Fifa is actually playing recorded sounds of vuvuzelas through the speakers.
“For three hours a day we’re exposed to that sound which helps preparation.”
Meanwhile, Italian Roberto Rosetti quit refereeing on Thursday but said his decision had nothing to do with allowing a clearly offside goal in the World Cup.
The 42-year-old, who took charge of the Euro 2008 final, has opted to retire and become the referee designator for Serie B less than two weeks after Carlos Tevez’s goal was allowed to stand in Argentina’s 3-1 win over Mexico in the last 16.
“The disappointment of the World Cup did not influence my decision,” Rosetti said.
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