BEING a Premier League referee is far from easy.
And as one of English football’s outstanding match officials, Howard Webb experienced lots of highs and lows during his exhilarating top-flight and international career.
The 45-year-old officiated in nearly 1,000 games during his time on the pitch and clashed heads with a number of big name personalities.
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When you think of ref-baiting bosses and players, some names certainly spring to mind.
And Webb has now revealed which fans, manager and player gave him the most grief during his time in charge.
He told The Mirror: “In the Premier League, the two that stand out for me are Stoke City and Everton. Both have really partisan fans which actually helps their clubs.
“At Stoke I had a good reputation there, I think, but it was always hostile for visiting clubs and match officials as well; the fans use that to their advantage.
“Everton are a great club, I liked them a lot, but their fans were so partisan, a clear situation against them you would penalise would be greeted with howls of derision.
“And that touchline on the far side from the main stand was the hardest for assistants to run, you’d certainly feel the pressure from the fans behind.
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“[Managers] can all have their moments but the one that really gave me the most stick, who I felt held no love for the refereeing profession, was David Moyes.
“He’d be quick to criticise me, not particularly in the technical area, people like Neil Warnock were really difficult there. But Moyes was probably the one who was most critical of my decisions.
“[Player?] Craig Bellamy. I struggled to gain a rapport with Craig. He’s a great footballer, might be a lovely kid away from the game but on the pitch he was always quick with an opinion, didn’t want to listen to yours so much. I found it quite difficult to gain a rapport.
“Some players you think might fall into that category, like Joey Barton or Robbie Savage, wore their heart on their sleeve, would give an opinion but would actually enter into some dialogue. I found that quite healthy and was quite happy to referee those types of characters.”
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