Who is David Webb? The referee for Preston North End's visit to Swansea City

Preston North End will be keen to bounce back from their defeat at Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers when they travel to Swansea City on Tuesday night.

A last-gasp Yuki Ohashi goal condemned Paul Heckingbottom’s men to a narrow loss at Ewood Park on Friday, leaving North End three points adrift of the play-off places and sitting in 10th in the Championship table ahead of their trip to Wales.

Swansea will also feel they have a chance of making it to the play-off places as they are sitting just three points adrift of the Lilywhites, meaning the stakes will be high as the two sides prepare to meet at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The man in the middle looking to keep a watchful eye on both sides is referee David Webb after he was named as lead official for the fixture. Daniel Leach and Alastair Nelson have been confirmed as referee’s assistants and Stephen Martin will oversee fourth official duties from the touchline.

But what do we know of Webb?

Who is referee David Webb?

Webb has been officiating in the EFL for almost two decades and has been the man in the middle for over 500 fixtures during that time.

His first landmark moment came in 2018 when he took charge of the League Two play-off final as Coventry City claimed a 3-1 win against Exeter City to secure their place back in the third tier of English football.

Webb also progressed into the Premier League for the first time in his career during the final weeks of the 2024/25 season when he officiated Leicester City’s 2-0 home win against Southampton and Crystal Palace’s 4-2 victory against Wolves.

He also oversaw a number of international friendlies at youth level earlier in his career as he took charge of England Under-17 and Under-18 fixtures against Portugal, Germany and Turkey.

Has David Webb refereed any Preston North End fixtures?

Yes, TransferMarkt has revealed Webb has been the man in the middle for 29 North End fixtures - and the Lilywhites have emerged victorious in over half of them with 15 wins.

A 2-0 home victory against Peterborough United during the early weeks of the 2009/10 Championship season was the first time Webb oversaw a North End fixture, while the last came during a 2-2 home draw with Cardiff City on the penultimate weekend of last season.

Intriguingly, Webb has only shown one red card during a North End fixture and that came when Andrew Hughes was dismissed during the Lilywhites’ 2-2 draw with Sheffield United in January 2022.

North End’s overall record in their 29 fixtures overseen by Webb is 15 wins, six draws and eight defeats.

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