Webb admits regret over not dismissing Ronaldo in 2008

Howard Webb admits he is still undecided as to whether he made a mistake in not sending Cristiano Ronaldo off during a Manchester derby in 2008.

Webb, who was one of the country’s leading referees before his retirement in August 2014, discussed an incident during a 1-0 win for Manchester United over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in November 2008.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, he said that he had booked Ronaldo for a foul on Shaun Wright-Phillips, but was faced with a “dilemma” when the Portuguese applauded him.

Under the newly-established Respect initiative this could have seen Ronaldo dismissed for a second bookable offence, but Webb was lenient and merely warned the forward.

He ended up sending Ronaldo off after a different incident just ten minutes later, but admitted that he often wonders whether his initial decision was a mistake.

“Sometimes I’ve been found wanting,” he said. “I can remember a situation when Cristiano Ronaldo sarcastically applauded me for showing him a yellow card early in the game, and I was in quite a bit of a dilemma.

“Should I send him off for this lack of respect? Or can I manage this – and when you’re sending somebody off, it’s a big move, it’s a big step, if it’s for something that’s not a football-related situation – can I manage this?

“If it’s not a bad tackle or a holding offence that’s denied a promising attack, when it’s something that’s not about playing the game, it can put you in a situation where you’re thinking, ‘Can I manage this? Should I manage this? Will I get support if I do send him off?’

“I took the decision to warn him, and to this day I’m not sure whether that was the right thing to do. Maybe I should have taken a big stand and said: ‘No, this is not acceptable.’

“It’s quite some years ago but it was just after the Respect initiative came out, and really it was down to people like me to set the standard.

“But sometimes the pressure of the occasion, the magnitude of the occasion, plays heavy on you. You wanted some certainty that was the only option left to you, and that you weren’t overreacting.

“It wasn’t always easy finding the right balance.”