Englishman Howard Webb to referee final 
Englishman Howard Webb has been chosen to referee the World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain in Johannesburg on Sunday, Fifa has confirmed.
The 38-year-old Yorkshireman has had a good tournament so far, as have his assistants Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann, who will join him in the final.
Webb is the first Englishman to referee the final since Jack Taylor in 1974.
He has refereed three World Cup matches in South Africa and has neither shown a red card nor awarded a penalty.
Webb's first match in charge was Spain's shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland.
He was also in charge for Slovakia's 3-2 victory against Italy - which saw the defending champions knocked out of the tournament - and was praised for his handling of a dramatic finale to the match.
In the last-16 stage Webb refereed Brazil's 3-0 win over Chile, but he missed out on the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Webb and his assistants Cann and Mullarkey have enjoyed a highly successful season, having already officiated the Champions League final in May, when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in Madrid.
And their performances have boosted English referees' standing around the world after the debacle in the 2006 World Cup when Graham Poll handed out three yellow cards to one player during the match between Australia and Croatia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8802425.stm
