ZURICH: Howard Webb, referee of the 2010 World Cup Final, will be back on duty in Brazil in June and July after being named by world federation FIFA among the 25 team of officials for the four-week tournament writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
Policeman Webb was the subject of controversy over his decision not to send off Holland’s Nigel De Jong in the first half of the final for kicking Xabi Alonso in the chest.
Spain won 1-0 with a goal at the end of extra time from Andres Iniesta. By then Webb had sent off Holland’s Johnny Heitinga.
He was the first referee to take charge of a Champions League final and a World Cup final in the same year. Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann will be his assistants.
Webb has come in for criticism this season, notably from Manchester United manager David Moyes, for what some observers have judged as below-par performance in the Premier League.
No country has more than one refereeing team at the finals for which goal-line technology will be installed for the first time.
The choices were made by the FIFA Referees Committee, meeting in Zurichunder the chairmanship of Northern Ireland’s Jim Boyce.
The committee appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 different countries. All will undertake a comprehensive programme to ensure they are in peak condition for the finals start on June 12.
An initial group of 52 elite refereeing trios was selected in September 2011 to prepare for the 2014 World Cup.
FIFA said: “The referees . . . have been chosen based especially on their personality and their quality in football understanding by being able to read the game and the teams’ tactical approaches towards each game.
“Between now and the World Cup, the selected group of match officials will participate in three seminars: February, March/April, and the last one ten days before the kick-off.
“The selected referees and assistant referees will be followed and monitored regularly during this period, and FIFA is ready to give them all the support they need so that they can prepare for this important World Cup in the best possible manner.”
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