Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Howard Webb: Manchester City join Twitter chorus bidding referee a sarcastic goodbye

The blue half of Manchester jumped into the satirical send-offs for referee Howard Webb with a tweet referring back to an incident in 2006

Teddy Cutler
Thursday 07 August 2014 08:56 BST
Comments
Howard Webb (right) sends off Manchester City defender Sun Jihai (left)
Howard Webb (right) sends off Manchester City defender Sun Jihai (left) (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

United's cross-town rivals Manchester City could not resist the opportunity to take their own, personal potshot at Webb on his way out of the Premier League door, as he leaves active refereeing service to take up a post as technical director of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.

The game being referred to is the 2006 FA Cup quarter-final between Stuart Pearce's City and Alan Pardew's West Ham at Eastlands.

The Hammers prevailed 2-1 thanks to two Dean Ashton strikes n their way to an eventual meeting with Liverpool at Wembley - but not before Manchester City had been reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Sun Jihai for a swinging arm.

They felt the decision to be unfair at the time - and more than eight years on, Webb's departure has given them an opportunity to air the festering wound in public once again.

Of course, United's "noisy neighbours" were by no means the only ones taking aim at Webb on an afternoon when Twitter revealed its claws.

Nary an opportunity was missed to remind the world of social media of Webb's supposed bias towards the red half of Manchester.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in