In our world, introspection is king

'It's not a red card, it's an arrestable offence!'

Webb on De Jong horror tackleThe Netherlands international kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest during the 2010 World Cup final but was not sent off, and the referee has admitted that he made a mistake

Howard Webb admits that he should have sent off Netherlands midfielder Nigel De Jong after his kung-fu kick on Spain counterpart Xabi Alonso in the 2010 World Cup final.

Having been chosen to officiate the showpiece fixture, Webb showed the former Manchester City midfielder a yellow card after a recklessly high tackle on Alonso in the 28th minute of the fixture, which ended 1-0 after Andres Iniesta's extra-time strike.

Webb was subsequently booed when he collected his medal after the final whistle, and he has now conceded that he made a mistake in refusing to dismiss the Dutchman, but has suggested that he did not see the incident clearly enough to take such a decision.

Speaking to BT Sport, Webb said: “I still thought I got it right on the pitch. So I get back into the dressing room and my assistant referee has gone to his pocket and got his phone out, and his face dropped. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Goal.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Much has been made about the World Cup Final that Webb oversaw. Some great, some horrible. Here at Kicking Back we did an in depth analysis and contrasted it to an "A" licensed coaches analysis which proved very interesting, and not surprisingly the two entities see the game in the same was in many aspects, but have separate views on others.

This article reaffirmed an old axiom that is true among referees as well as in general for successful people in life in my opinion. Reflect and learn from your mistakes. Take what you can and implement it for next time. Webb obviously has done this.

The real trick is twofold in such cases however.

First, you have to keep going even in the face of a massive screw up. As we and many others have written, missing that send off started to unravel that match. Getting back on track to what got you there is critical in such a case.

Second, when you learn the lesson, you have to let the rest go. Hanging on to all the negative stuff that goes with such an incident is not a good thing and has the potential of dragging you back into that mindset.

Experience, reflect, learn, evolve.