EURO 2008 INFO

Entering the stage to lead the delegation English during Euro 2008 in June next year will certainly be one of the highlights of the career of referee Howard Webb ...

The England are already eliminated from the final phase of the competition, the referee Howard Webb and his two assistants will make up only the English flag in Switzerland and Austria.

The police sergeant, and his two linesmen Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey, are among the 12 trios of referees selected to officiate at the third biggest sporting event in the world. Meeting at a course for referees in Regensdorf near Zurich.
swissinfo: What are your expectations for Euro 2008?

Howard Webb: I expect a lot of emotions among the fans, and they will surely fade as the arbitrators. We will be constantly under pressure, but we have trained many to be the point both physically and mentally for this challenge.
swissinfo: About emotions ... What do you think the absence of England at this final stage?

HW: With us everybody is watching the matches, it is an important social event. So I am obviously disappointed because this time, people do not benefit the euro in the same way. By against it m'enlève a little pressure, because I'll be less exposed to the eyes of my compatriots!

swissinfo: The English referee Graham Poll made a mistake during the 2006 World Cup in giving three yellow cards to the same player. This will he scored?

HW: Graham was an excellent referee and I am really sorry for him having made a blunder in a match of this importance. Whenever we arbitrons a game, we want to avoid controversy.

We can always learn through the mistakes of others. Thanks to what happened to Graham, we have developed some measures to prevent such situations from happening again.
swissinfo: You asked the referees to be strict with the claims, dives, tackles and violent confrontations between players. The behaviour of players he tends to deteriorate?

HW: I do not think that in recent seasons, the situation has worsened because the players have understood the message: the game must be privileged. They have a responsibility to ensure that their actions do not go beyond a certain limit.

Some supporters have turned their backs on football, just because of what they observe on the ground. The simulations, complaints, confrontations are an affront to the game and must be eradicated. We also see fewer tackles villains who endanger the health of the opponent. Our message is clear: we must firmly punish excessive behaviour.
swissinfo: The players are increasingly under pressure to win?

HW: You should know that the pressure is put on players by their coaches and supporters, is the result of an entire business. The relationship between referees and players is much better than might be assumed.
swissinfo: Your training helps you policeman does in arbitration?

HW: You can indeed find similar skills within two functions: to manage people, assess the situation quickly enough, take a decision based on what we saw. This is not a coincidence that several referees in England are also policemen.