JOHANNESBURG - World Cup final referee Howard Webb did not have a perfect game, by his own exacting standards.
Webb booked 13 different players - eight from the Dutch - and sent off John Heitinga after showing the Netherlands defender a second yellow card in extra time of its 1-0 loss to Spain.
The English referee did not show a second yellow card to Spain defender Carles Puyol when he appeared to impede Arjen Robben in the 82nd minute, allowing Robben to play on and attempt to score.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque called it a "very intense match," but Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk thought Webb did not control the game well.
"I don't look at referees but if I look at the … chance of Arjen then he should have given a second yellow too," Van Marwijk said.
Beforehand, Webb described his perfect game as one when "nobody is speaking about the officials."
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But the 14 yellow cards, one leading to a red, was a record for a World Cup final, beating the six collected by Argentina and West Germany players in 1986.
At the final whistle, Netherlands midfielders Mark Van Bommel and Wesley Sneijder headed directly toward Webb, 38, a former policeman.
Robben, who was booked for protesting that he was fouled by Puyol, joined in as did defender Joris Mathijsen.
They were upset at a decision which indirectly led to the winning goal. From a Dutch free kick, Sneijder's shot was deflected wide but Webb awarded a goal kick and Spain broke forward to score behind Andres Iniesta.
"If you play a World Cup final, you need a world-class referee," Robben said. "I don't know if today was a world-class performance."
Fallen teammate
Spain's hero, Iniesta, took off his blue jersey to reveal a white T-shirt bearing the words, "Dani Jarque: siempre con nosotros" - "Dani Jarque: always with us."
Jarque collapsed and died at the age of 26 on a preseason tour of Italy last year, one month after being named Spain's team captain.
"I wanted to carry Dani with me," said Iniesta, a junior teammate of Jarque's.
Forlan, Mueller honored
Uruguay striker Diego Forlan was awarded the Golden Ball as the World Cup's best player, and Germany forward Thomas Mueller won the Golden Boot as top scorer.
Forlan was voted the most outstanding player by accredited media after leading his team to the semifinals. He edged out Netherlands playmaker Sneijder, with Spain's David Villa third.
Mueller, 20, had five goals and three assists and also won the Best Young Player award. Forlan, Villa and Sneijder each had five goals but only one assist. Spain's Iker Casillas won the Golden Glove as the top goalkeeper.
