It was a long journey for Howard Webb to get to the World Cup final in 2010, the pinnacle for any referee. His first game as a match official came when he was just 18 as he took charge of an Under-11s fixture in South Yorkshire. Watching on was his father, himself a referee for 35 years, and his verdict on Webb's first game was blunt: 'Useless - he doesn't know his arse from his elbow.' It was an early lesson in one of the challenges any referee has to face up to: criticism from the sidelines.

But Webb was soon progressing through the ranks, and by 2003 at the age of 32 he had risen to take charge of Premier League games. His natural calm authority made a quick impression on players and administrators alike, and soon he was being offered the top matches and the toughest fixtures.

Now, in this superb and honest memoir, Howard Webb reveals what it is like to be at the heart of the action in the modern-day game where every decision can be unpicked by television cameras with the benefit of different angles and slow-motion replays. He explains how he learned to handle some of the game's superstars, and the responses his decisions provoked from managers and pundits alike. Refereeing is a tough business, but Webb shows just why he enjoyed it so much and provides fascinating insights into how he dealt with the toughest situations.