Exclusive – Webb: ‘I should have sent off De Jong’

Howard Webb has told talkSPORT Nigel De Jong was lucky to escape a World Cup final red card.

Manchester City's Dutch midfield hard man was booked for a sickening foul on Spain's Xabi Alonso, when his studs caught the Real Madrid ace full in the chest.

It was just one of a number of ugly incidents that marred the match in Johannesburg and Webb admits that, if he could referee the game again, he would make some different decisions.

He told Drive Time: "Looking back at it from the comfort of my armchair, with replays and different angles, then that’s one of the decisions I would probably change. The colour of the card could easily have been red.

"My viewing angle wasn’t great looking through the back of Xabi Alonso and I, for one, 25 minutes into a World Cup final, wasn’t prepared to guess the nature of the contact. And therefore I decided to go yellow.

"But these things happen. I’ve made decisions against other players in the past, but we move on.

"When we encounter each other again in Premier League football there will be no grudges held. We’re all professional and we all move on. There will be a handshake and a smile I guess, and that will be that."

Webb received widespread criticism of his performance in the final from an unhappy Dutch camp, but he insists any referee would have struggled to do a better job.

"I reffed it to the best of my ability in really difficult circumstances," he added. "It wasn’t perfect, but I don’t think anyone who participated in that game, including the 28 players, could say the game was perfect.

"There are a couple of things we’d change, but not too many, and overall we’re satisfied that we did a good job in really difficult circumstances.

"I care about what people think, although I care more about some people's opinions than others, but I care the most about what I feel.

"We received so much support from people and we were boosted by that. People realised what a difficult job it was."

Webb is currently involved in England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals. He joined FIFA delegates in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon and is hopeful the officials have been suitably impressed with what they've seen during their visit this week.

"I'm extremely hopeful of winning the World Cup bid," he continued. "I'm sure the FIFA delegates are impressed with the facilities we've got.

"And I hope they go away with the clear passion we’ve got for football in this country. It runs through all communities. It means so much to so many people. The stadiums are full, and the atmosphere is electric.

"I know so many people from around the world who make an annual pilgrimage to a Premier League game just to experience that atmosphere.

"So let’s get the World Cup to England and let the world share the passion."