Howard Webb has encouraged promising young match officials to 'give it a go' and has offered his advice to aspiring referees.

The 41-year-old, who has been refereeing in the Premier League since 2003, says referees need to believe in themselves and their decisions. He also accepts that mistakes are part of the game and provide an opportunity for learning. 

After picking up the whistle way back in 1989, his path in refereeing lead him all the way to the Champions League and World Cup Finals in 2010.

The Select Group official was back at Sheffield & Hallamshire FA offices recently, where his route to the top began, and told FATV about his life as a referee.

"Always believe in yourself," he said. "Referees are always being asked to question their decisions; players will always try to get an advantage as they want to win the game.

"For example, the ball will hit a player and go out for a throw-in and he’ll appeal for the throw-in himself as he wants to get an advantage. That’s part of the game.

"Referees are always being asked to question themselves. I think referees need strong self-belief."

Webb added: "I accept mistakes will be made, that’s part of the learning process, but as long as you learn from them you’ll get better each and every time.

"People who don’t make it as a player, or maybe play but get injured at a young age, or just want to be involved in football, I’d say refereeing is a wonderful opportunity to be involved actively, to keep fit, to get fit, to earn a few quid as well.

"And the potential of being involved in games at a high level. Give it a go."

In this, the sixth and final part of the FATV series with the Rotherham-born referee, he also talks about being a role-model to other aspiring referees.

Watch part six in the FATV player above or you can look part on the previous five parts via the links on the right...