English Referee, Howard Webb Retires

The 43-year-old has been appointed technical director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) thus ending his 25 years as a referee.





Webb famously took charge of the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa and in the same year was
appointed as referee for the Champions League final.






In his new role he will oversee the direction of the PGMOL's match officials, training programme and
coaching system.







He said: "I am very excited to start this new chapter in my career after a wonderfully rewarding 25 years
on the pitch.






"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 major international tournaments, and taken charge of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup Finals.





"Refereeing has given me so much and I think 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 I believe 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."