World Cup final referee Howard Webb has revealed the experience of taking charge of the occasion and subsequent brickbats has left him “physically and emotionally drained”.

The English official has been under the spotlight after a final that saw brutal tackles dished out by both Holland and Spain while Webb handed out a record total of 14 yellow cards and 1 red card – the most ever for a World Cup final.

But Webb’s task was made all the harder by a Dutch team hell bent on making it as difficult as possible for the Spanish players to impose their usual passing game, with Nigel de Jong launching a frightening kung fu kick at Xabi Alonso, while Mark van Bommel made it his personal mission to decapitate as many Spanish players as possible, with Xavi and Iniesta often at the end of his tackles.

Webb said: “It was the most difficult two hours of my career. I am physically and emotionally drained but FIFA have been very supportive – not just about the final but our performances throughout the whole tournament.”

Dutch fans have reportedly sent death threats to Webb and the Premier League referee will be feeling worse after FIFA president Sepp Blatter refused to give him his full backing in public.

“In football we have to live with the errors of players and referees.,” Blatter said.

“It’s not up to me to judge the performances of the officials.

“I can only say it was a very hard task that the officials had.

“It was not easy, really not easy and they were really not helped in this task.

“The final was not exactly what I expected in terms of fair play. But the side that played football won.”

Tags: FIFA, Holland, Howard Webb, Netherlands, Sepp Blatter, Spain, World Cup, World Cup 2010