Webb holds his hands up over United penalty

April 29, 2009

LONDON (AFP) – Top English referee Howard Webb conceded on Tuesday he had been wrong to award English Premier League leaders Manchester United a crucial penalty against Spurs last Saturday.

Spurs were leading 2-0 at the time when Webb – who only last week was appointed referee for May’s FA Cup final – pointed to the spot after judging Spurs ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes to have fouled Michael Carrick.

That proved to be the turning point as Spurs folded completely to end up on the wrong end of a 5-2 defeat.

“I’ve looked at it again and I think it was a mistake but we make these decisions honestly,” said the 37-year-old, who last year received death threats from Polish fans for awarding Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria a late penalty in their group game which they converted to force a 1-1 draw.

“It’s not always easy to see the way the play pans out from pitch level,” he told the BBC.

“I could see the Manchester United player touch the ball and saw him get clattered by the goalkeeper but didn’t see the extra deviation from the goalkeeper’s fingers touching the ball.

“I’m disappointed as I always strive for perfection. I’ll look at the tape in detail later in the week and try to avoid it happening again in the future.

“I never want to have a negative impact on a game and I get no pleasure from not reaching the high standards we set ourselves.

“But show me a man who’s never made a mistake and I’ll show you a man who’s done nothing.”

Webb admitted in January he had experienced the lowest moment of his career when during the Birmingham Wolves FA Cup third round tie he inadvertently deflected a pass by Birmingham’s Radhi Jaidi to Wolves striker Andy Keogh which led to Sam Vokes scoring – Wolves won the match 2-0.

“You want the world to swallow you up at that moment,” he said at the time.

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