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Howard Webb has announced his retirement from refereeing as he assumes his new role as the Technical Director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, confirmed Premier League’s official website.
"I am very excited to start this new chapter in my career after a wonderfully rewarding 25 years on the pitch," Webb said. "I have spent over a decade with the best seat in the house for Barclays Premier League matches, been lucky enough to be involved in nine UEFA and FIFA tournaments, and taken charge of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup finals.”
He continued, "Refereeing has given me so much and it’s important that match officials who have had the rewards remain in the game to pass on their knowledge. I also have much more to learn about the business of refereeing and the best place for me to do that is with PGMOL. It’s an incredibly positive working environment and we all have a common goal of improving refereeing.
Webb, aged 43, is one of the most popular referees of all time, and has refereed over 500 Premier League matches, with him being the first referee to officiate in the finals of both the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup in the same year back in 2010.
"Over the last five years in particular we have made huge strides in terms of our accuracy, fitness and professionalism,” he added. “The current Select Group are the best referees this country has ever produced and I am thrilled that I not only get the chance to continue working with them, but also the opportunity to help develop the next generation of Select Group officials.”
The news has come after Webb was seen scoring a brilliant goal with a cheeky Panenka chip last week.
According to the official statement released, Webb’s new role as PMOL’s Technical Director will require him to oversee the technical direction and standards that govern the on-field performance of PGMOL’s match officials. He will also need to manage their coaching programmes that focuses on the training of young referees.
A look into his statistics
Games officiated: 534
Yellow Cards issued: 1,694 with an average of 3.17 per game
Red Cards issued: 68 with an average 0.16 per game
