Englishman Howard Webb has been chosen to referee the World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain in Johannesburg on Sunday, Fifa has confirmed.

The 38-year-old Yorkshireman has had a good tournament so far, as have his assistants Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann, who will join him in the final.

Webb is the first Englishman to referee the final since Jack Taylor in 1974. 

He has refereed three World Cup matches in South Africa and has neither shown a red card nor awarded a penalty. 

However, Webb has handed out an average of 5.67 bookings per games - the second highest tally in tournament. 

Webb made his World Cup finals debut in Spain's shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland.

He was also in charge for Slovakia's 3-2 victory against Italy - which saw the defending champions knocked out of the tournament - and was praised for his handling of a dramatic finale to the match. 

In the last-16 stage Webb refereed Brazil's 3-0 win over Chile, but he missed out on the quarter-finals and semi-finals. 

Taylor, referee for the 1974 World Cup final between West Germany and Netherlands, said Webb had been "almost perfect" in the three games he has officiated in so far.

"I've known Howard for a long time," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I've seen him as a young referee and I've seen him come through, I've seen his ability. 

"He's had three games and he's been almost perfect. He's fit, he's strong, he's diplomatic, he reads the game terribly well, in my opinion they couldn't pick a better man." 

For Webb to be chosen to officiate the biggest game in football in his first World Cup finals is a superb achievement. 

It comes off the back of a highly successful season for him and his assistants Cann and Mullarkey, after they officiated the Champions League final in May when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid. 

Their performances have boosted English officials' standing around the world after the debacle in the 2006 World Cup when referee Graham Poll handed out three yellow cards to one player during the match between Australia and Croatia. 

Premier League referees chief Mike Riley says those experiences mean all three men will be more than prepared for such a high-profile match. 

"As a team they will be prepared for the challenges and I'm sure they will be more than looking forward to the occasion," he told the BBC.

Webb, a former police officer from Rotherham, started officiating in the Northern Counties League in the mid-1990s. 

He has been a Premier League referee since 2003 and took charge of the 2007 Carling Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea - won by the Blues 2-1 - and the 2009 FA Cup final, also won by 2-1 Chelsea, that time against Everton. 

One of Webb's assistants, Mullarkey, recently revealed how Fifa training sessions had included preparation for the noise of the vuvuzelas in South Africa. 

Mullarkey said: "When we're doing our training exercises Fifa is actually playing recorded sounds of vuvuzelas through the speakers.

"For three hours a day we're exposed to that sound which helps preparation." 

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