Webb named for World Cup

The 38-year-old from Rotherham, who will be assisted by Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey, has been chosen from an initial list of 54 by the governing body's Referees Committee.

Webb is regarded as one of the Premier League's top officials and only last week was praised for his performance in the Carling Cup semi-final when Manchester United defeated Manchester City.

It will be the former police officer's first World Cup but he gained experience at a major tournament in 2008 when he caused controversy at the European Championships.

He awarded hosts Austria a stoppage-time spot-kick against Poland for holding in the penalty area, a decision which led to death threats being posted on the internet. In the aftermath, the foul itself was not the focus of debate, instead the talk was whether all similar offences should be punished.

His appointment for the World Cup came after a series of assessments by FIFA, including written exams along with physical tests.

Webb and his assistants will attend a training seminar next month and there will be a final assessment in May before matches are allocated.

Webb could will hope to do better than Graham Poll in 2006, after the Premier League referee inadvertently showed a yellow card to Croatia's Josip Simunic three times.