Howard Webb's performance during the World Cup final has caused a bit of controversy after Spain went on to win the World Cup in extra time following Andreas Iniesta's goal in the second half of extra time. The English referee gave away 14 yellow cards during the match, a new record during a World Cup final, with the previous record involving a mere six yellow cards

The World Cup final is without a doubt one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and I presume that most of the people watching were expecting a more entertaining match. Personally I thought the game was fantastic, mostly due to the strategic and tactical analysis it offered. It got me thinking more of chess then association football. However, the final didn’t show that flair and pace everyone was expecting of both teams. This was mostly due to the fact that Holland didn’t allow the game to flow because anytime Spain looked like they were going to attack they were fouled by the Dutch opposition, and for the most part in the middle of the pitch. This was however because of the style of play of the Spanish side.

The Spanish tactics bored me. Both during attack and defensive they crowd the midfield with up to 7 players, allowing the left and right backs to play almost a free role over the entire pitch with two holding midfielders providing cover. Time and time again you would see Pique and Puyol going on the far left and far right of their defensive line and allowing Xabi Alonso and Sergio Buscheso, the two holding players, to drop back in central defensive positions, but still offering their services during offensive plays. This meant that the Dutch side had no control over the midfield, simply because they were outnumbered, and at times outclassed, resulting in frustration and unnecessary fouls.

Which brings me to Howard Webb’s performance. If he would not have refereed this final match, it would have been even more boring then it actually was. Any other match official would have sent Mark Van Bommel, Arjen Robben and Joris Mathijsen off during normal play. Just like Garth Southgate said during the half time break, he would be surprised if no-one would get sent off during the second half. Webb clearly didn’t want to destroy the game by sending a player off.

I admire him for it. It didn’t improve the entertainment value off the game, because the game was dread boring anyway (aside from tactical observations). However, it gave both teams the chance to play for almost 114 mins (before Heitinga’s second yellow card) without it being one sided. And because this is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, he wanted the game to remain as even and close as possible. It was a very hard match to control, and he controlled it for the spectators point of view, which deserves some credit. The Dutch team should not be blaming him for the result, they should be thanking him for buying them a bit of time before sending anyone off.