Jon Holmes is unsure whether the people of Rotherham can take pride in the performance of referee Howard Webb on Thursday.

Jon Holmes is unsure whether the people of Rotherham can take pride in the performance of referee Howard Webb on Thursday.

The tournament started with the excitement of Leytonstone's finest - Colin "Kazim" Kazim-Richards - making the starting line-up for Turkey against Portugal. Then came the disappointment of Simone Perrotta being left on the bench for Italy's opener against Holland. But on Thursday night, fans of English-born Euro 2008 personalities were able to cheer again - for Austria v Poland marked the debut of arguably Rotherham's fourth most famous son (after, of course, Barry and Paul Chuckle, and David Seaman), referee Howard Webb. Actually I've just noticed William Hague also comes from Rotherham. Make that fourth equal.

However you rank the celebrity sons and daughters (Paul Shane aka Hi-de-Hi's Ted Bovis is also a strong contender), there is little denying that football has been a cause of disappointment in Rotherham for far too long. The Millers have twice been in administration in recent years, and from next season they will no longer be playing in Rotherham. A row between the club's new owners and the landlords means the club has been forced to up sticks and move out of Millmoor. Their new home will be the Don Valley Stadium in nearby Sheffield, a 25,000-seater venue built for athletics. And any Brighton fan can tell you such arenas don't make good football grounds.

Heartfelt

But the rise and rise of Webb in the noble art of refereeing has at least brought some pride back to the south Yorkshire town - and as I discovered, there's even been an anthem written in his honour. On first listen, I can only describe the sound as being very 'indie schmindie' but the lyrics are honest and heartfelt, in the style of 'Three Lions'. "There's no hope of glory, running low on pride," sings James Tinney of The Bar Chord. But he then asks: "Where's a man who'll save us, who's on our side?" Cue chorus hailing Howard Webb, and his representation of Britain (?) at the Euros.

It's not going to win many fans from the Polish community in Rotherham, however. The decision to award Austria a 93rd-minute penalty in Vienna for what looked to be minor shirt-pulling was hugely controversial. Leo Beenhakker felt Webb, who is on a five-year break from his day job as a police sergeant, wanted to prove he was "a big boy". At 6ft 3ins, I'd say that was obvious.

However Beenhakker might have a point. Here's a quote Webb gave the Sheffield Star before jetting out to referees camp in Zurich: "Of course, some decisions are controversial whichever way you call them but sometimes you have to stand up and make the big ones. It's not being the star of the show - I never want to be that - but sometimes I have to raise my profile." Job done.

Consequences

Now I don't want to start an international incident but a quick look on Rotherham's council website informs me that the town has a "Partnership Agreement" with the Polish city of Zabrze. In fact, the local club Gornik has two players in the current Poland squad - Tomasz Zahorski and Michal Pazdan. Whether or not Webb contravened the terms of this accord by pointing to the spot at the Ernst Happel Stadion has not yet been made clear. But don't be surprised if a motion is tabled imminently at Zabrze Town Hall, severing all ties with Rotherham. After all, big decisions have big consequences.

Webb is being followed around Euro 2008 by a Belgian film crew who are making a documentary about the "human side of refereeing". Having read Graham Poll's self-righteous autobiography, that phrase sent a shiver down my spine although Webb seems a decent bloke. But even the aforementioned anthem continues with the line "the referee is the one" while Austria coach Josef Hickersberger said the man with the whistle is "like God". Webb is not the ultimate authority, however - that job belongs to the referees assessor, and our man at Euro 2008 will be praying he gets to go further in the tournament.

Bastian Schweinsteiger picked up the first red card of Euro 2008, late on in Germany's 2-1 defeat by Croatia in Klagenfurt after a rumble with Jerko Leko. Schweinsteiger has a bit of a wild reputation in Germany after a widely-reported act of debauchery. On a night out in Munich, he met a girl at a disco and took her to Bayern's training centre for some late-night naked jacuzzi action. When security discovered Schweinsteiger at 2am, he claimed the young lady was his cousin. And Leko didn't even get asked back for coffee. How humiliating for him.