Referee Webb substituted due to head injury on Premier League debut

Referee David Webb suffered a head injury and was replaced following a delay of several minutes during the first half of Leicester City's Premier League game against Southampton on Saturday.

Webb, refereeing his first Premier League match at the age of 49, was struck in the face by the shoulder of Leicester forward Jordan Ayew and fell to the pitch. Leicester striker Jamie Vardy ran over to Webb and blew his whistle to signal for help.

Jamie Vardy appeared to blow the referee David Webb's whistle after he went down following a clash with Jordan Ayew 😅 pic.twitter.com/ti0Yx3TEBw

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 3, 2025

Webb received treatment but was unable to continue and after a 12-minute delay, he was replaced by fourth official Sam Barrott.