Howard Webb has admitted he was desperate to see Cristiano Ronaldo miss from the spot after awarding a penalty that shouldn't have been. The error came in 2009 in a match between Manchester United and Tottenham. The north Londoners were 2-0 up in the second-half at Old Trafford before the hosts were handed a route back into the game by Webb. Michael Carrick clashed with Heurelho Gomes and the referee pointed to the spot. Webb immediately knew he'd made an error and was hoping a Ronaldo miss would atone for his mistake, but the spot kick was cooly dispatched. United went on to win 5-2 and the 2010 World Cup final referee knew he'd made the wrong call.
He told The Athletic : "The one that stands out is one where in the game I knew I got it wrong. "It was a Premier League game at Old Trafford — Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur in 2009. I could see Carrick got there first and then the goalkeeper clattered into him. It was really an easy penalty award. I was expecting the usual cursory appeal that you get from the players, not the huge look of absolute astonishment and amazement and incredulousness on the look of Gomes. It was obvious within seconds I’d got the decision wrong. There was something more to this. I was left with the decision I had taken with no independent evidence that I’d got it wrong other than a gut feeling, and I was just hoping that Ronaldo would miss the penalty. But he didn’t."
Harry Redknapp, then Tottenham boss, commented after the game that the hosts had been given a "gift". He also took aim at Webb's apparent reputation as the Premier League's elite ref. United went on to score four times in the final half hour, helping them to a thumping win in April en route to a third successive title. Webb though knew he'd altered the course of the game with his mistake. "You just know. You can tell as a ref. You can see the momentum shift. You can see the way the game is going," he added. "At 2-1, you never know. At 2-2, you can see the way this game is going. When [the camera] misses all those players and runs up to you [at full-time], as a ref, it’s not a good feeling. You just know you have a world of pain coming your way."
Source: Mirror