Johannesburg - Howard Webb of England will referee the World Cup final.

FIFA has named the 38-year-old former police officer to take charge when the Netherlands and Spain meet at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium on Sunday.

Webb has refereed three World Cup matches and has neither shown a red card nor awarded a penalty.

He handled Spain's 1-0 loss to Switzerland, then won praise for controlling a dramatic end to Slovakia's 3-2 win that eliminated defending champion Italy. He also refereed Brazil's 3-0 second-round victory against Chile.

Webb and his assistants Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey will complete a prestigious end-of-season double after officiating the Champions League final in May, when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in Madrid.

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