Howard Webb had a GOOD game...

[DJ Leon]

...and the Dutch need to be punished: World Cup final: Howard Webb's dream job descends into nightmare | Football | The Guardian .

Not only for their determination to kick Spain out of the game, but for their reaction afterwards - just what the f@&k are they complaining about? They're lucky Webb didn't send at least 2 more of their players off. Foul at the other end? Erm, not really...

I really think this kind of stuff is ruining football. Never mind that Webb is English - it's understandable that no-one wants to be a ref and that the pressure on them is forcing them into bad decisions. FIFA need to do something and the first thing they can do is publicly remind the Dutch that they lost because they decided not to turn up and play football, not because of anything that Howard Webb did.

 

[southstandandy]

I thought he was too lenient in the first half - 2 Dutch players should have walked, but I suppose he was reticent about sending off any player so early especially in such a big match. If the Dutch had actually tried to play some football (instead of Rugby) they might have won.

 

[JBizzle]

I thought that, given the circumstances, he had a very good game. The Dutch made it impossible for any referee.

 

[Left Footer]

He did and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.
He did get the De Jong karate kick wrong (red card) and it may/may not have been a foul on the build up to the goal.

He is a strong ref and don`t think anyone else could have done better, he controlled it,some refs mioght have lost the plot and the Dutch would have ended up with seven or eight players left.

How the Dutch can blame him is nonsense.

 

[withdeanwombat]

He had a good game.

The Dutch disgraced themselves,and he helped to save their reputation by not sending more of them off.

Whoever decided on their tactics deserves a kick in the arse,too.Imagine getting to the World Cup Final then playing like a team of Sunday League thugs.Pity they got there,really.

 

[folkestonesgull]

It must have been such a difficult game to referee - trying to control the players and keep the game XI vs XI so as to ensure it was a good final when the dutch players were doing all they could to kick the Spanish in the air.

Van Bommel should have had about 5 yellow cards - I don't know how he got through the whole tournament only picking up 2...

 

[xenophon]

Spain were just as guilty - diving, then surrounding Webb demanding cards be shown. They also didn't pick up cards when they commited the same fouls as the Dutch. f*** the pair of them, the Germans were the best team to watch, the fairest in play and I wish they had reached the final and won the fucker.

I never want to see either of these two teams in a final again. f***ing awful.

 

[The Large One]

I certainly felt he tried to have a good game.

The players - discipline-wise - didn't have a good game, Netherlands for being brutal; Spain for the persistent surrounding of the referee.

Poor fella never had a chance.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I certainly felt he tried to have a good game.

The players - discipline-wise - didn't have a good game, Netherlands for being brutal; Spain for the persistent surrounding of the referee.

Poor fella never had a chance.

I think that just about sums it up.

 

[itszamora]

I certainly felt he tried to have a good game.

The players - discipline-wise - didn't have a good game, Netherlands for being brutal; Spain for the persistent surrounding of the referee.

Poor fella never had a chance.

Couldn't agree more. Both teams could easily have ended men sent off - the Dutch several - and it's to Webb's credit that he didn't entirely ruin the spectacle by flashing the red more than he did.

 

[highway61]

I have to agree fully with all the posts thus far. He could easily have given up the ghost, sent half the spoiled brats and thugs off the pitch, and quite understandably f***ed off down the tunnel himself at half time never to return. and i for one could not have blamed him one iota

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

I though he did a good job in a no-win situation for him.Good job hes a thick skinned copper.

 

[Brovion]

I certainly felt he tried to have a good game.

The players - discipline-wise - didn't have a good game, Netherlands for being brutal; Spain for the persistent surrounding of the referee.

Poor fella never had a chance.

Spot on. I think under the circumstances he did ok - or to put it another way he had a better game than probably any of the players.

 

[drew]

It must have been such a difficult game to referee - trying to control the players and keep the game XI vs XI so as to ensure it was a good final when the dutch players were doing all they could to kick the Spanish in the air.

Van Bommel should have had about 5 yellow cards - I don't know how he got through the whole tournament only picking up 2...

Surely it's not the ref's job to keep it XI v XI, it's down to the players as well.

Personally, as refs go, he had a reasonable game. A few errors in that de Yong should have walked as should Van Bommel. Iniesta should have been booked for retailiation on Van Bommel and perhaps Puyol should have gone for the foul on Robben.

Still, Holland didn't deserve to win because of their tactics.

 

[D'Angelo Saxon]

The fact is still though, that if he'd have given that corner to Holland at the end when the free kick deflected off the wall, then it may well have been a different story or at least gone to pens. Bad ending for him.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Given the circumstances I thought he had an excellent game.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I think FIFA owe Mr Webb a massive thank you for not allowing the game to turn into more of a farce than it was, he could of sent off a couple of the Dutch players and Iniesta for the off the ball on Van Bommel.

Could you imagine what would of happened if one of the card happy refs from Africa had taken this game?

We have some of the best refs in the world in this country and its time the media start to respect them a bit more and the FA to start fining/banning managers and players who abuse them.

 

[KneeOn]

The fact is still though, that if he'd have given that corner to Holland at the end when the free kick deflected off the wall, then it may well have been a different story or at least gone to pens. Bad ending for him.

This was the one mistake he made that pissed me off. Clear cut, just bad concentration. But after 2 hours of quality refereeing under a lot of pressure, he had a good game and no one can blame him.

 

[1959]

Webb and his two linesmen were the best team on the pitch by far.

 

[Mellotron]

The fact is still though, that if he'd have given that corner to Holland at the end when the free kick deflected off the wall, then it may well have been a different story or at least gone to pens. Bad ending for him.

It would've also been a different story if he had sent 2 to 3 dutch players off in the first half.

Holland were very very lucky to have 11 men on the pitch in the second half so how they felt they had the right to complain about ANY decision really was pretty baffling to me.