Alan Wiley's defence of Howard Webb

Premier League referee Alan Wiley and Wolves legend Kenny Hibbitt have mounted a fierce defence of England's World Cup whistler Howard Webb.

Webb has come under fire from Holland after they lost 1-0 to Spain in last night's final in Johannesburg.

The Rotherham-based official showed a record 14 yellow cards - including nine for Holland - and sent off Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga.

The total easily eclipses the previous record of six in a final when Argentina beat Germany in 1986.

Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt fumed: "We are angry because we were so close. The referee was slightly more for them than for us.

"That ultimately cost us the cup."

But Holland were lucky to keep 11 men on the pitch until the 108th minute after a series of bad fouls, in particular a chest-high karate-style kick by Nigel de Jong on Xabi Alonso which brought a yellow card instead of a red.

Burntwood-based Wiley said today: "Howard gave the game every chance. He tried his damndest to keep all the players on the field. It was a very tough game to referee.

"The cautions he issued he had no option with, the sending off he had no option with. He can only referee what is in front of him. If two teams play a physical game, he has to deal with whatever is in front of him.

"I felt he dealt with foul play by Spain the same way he dealt with foul play by Holland."

Hibbitt, now a leading Premier League referees' assessor, has known Webb for seven years and believes he should be applauded for trying to keep 11 players on the pitch.

He said: "Howard knew that if he'd reduced it 11 versus eight after 20 minutes it would have been a walkover for Spain and he'd have got slaughtered.

"All the bookings he made were the right decisions. I thought the Dutch were a disgrace and got what they deserved - they went to disrupt the game."