The man in the middle at the World Cup final tomorrow, Howard Webb, is very much a down-to-earth Englishman. The 38-year old comes from Rotherham in Yorkshire, which for all its merits is hardly the most glamorous location. He is an officer with South Yorkshire Police but has taken a five year sabbatical to focus on his work as a referee. The town’s football club is having to play at an athletics stadium in nearby Sheffield.
The man in the middle at the World Cup final tomorrow, Howard Webb, is very much a down-to-earth Englishman. The 38-year old comes from Rotherham in Yorkshire, which for all its merits is hardly the most glamorous location. He is an officer with South Yorkshire Police but has taken a five year sabbatical to focus on his work as a referee. The town’s football club is having to play at an athletics stadium in nearby Sheffield.
Nevertheless, we do live in the age of the celebrity referee. We have come a long way since the days when referees wore blazers and were looking for a bit of pin money to supplement their everyday incomes. It is now possible to earn £70,000 a year as a Premier League referee and, with the permission of the referees’ organisation, it is possible to supplement that with other income.
Once a referee has retired it is possible to make an income from his experiences. Despite making the grave error of showing three yellow cards at a World Cup before sending a player off, one of the more controversial referees, Graham Poll, has become a media pundit. Some referees have written their memoirs. However, possibly the steadiest income can come from the after dinner circuit at sports clubs, if you are a witty enough speaker. But that income probably falls away as people forget you.
Whether all this is good for the game is another matter. Most football fans think the referee and his assistants have had a good game if they are unobtrusive and unmemorable. And, by the way, there is no market yet for celebrity linesmen (assistant referees).