Howard Webb has a dry sense of humour that, as Public Enemy No 1 last week, helped him to cope with the widespread vilification. After awarding a controversial late penalty against Poland in their group B match against Austria on Thursday, “Wanted: Dead Or Alive” posters – with a bounty of $50,000 (about £25,000) – were circulated on the internet by outraged Poland supporters.

As the heat gradually subsided, Webb, England’s sole referee at the European Championship finals, could not resist a quiet chuckle yesterday. “Is that all?” he said. “If it was a bit more, I might claim the reward. I might hand myself in.”

Other less savoury images on the web had included Webb, his face battered and bruised, with a knife embedded in his head. Miroslaw Drzewiecki, Poland’s Minister of Sport, captured the mood of his country when he said: “This is a disgrace. The referee is a liar. He was cheating all the time.”

Leo Beenhakker, the Poland coach, also accused Webb of trying to show that he was a “big boy” when he penalised Mariusz Lewandowski for pulling the shirt of Sebastian Prödl, the Austria defender, in stoppage time on Thursday. Ivica Vastic scored from the spot to force a 1-1 draw.

Webb, 36, the youngest referee in the tournament, understands the reaction in Poland and within the large Polish community in Britain. Yet when he takes charge of the group D encounter between Greece and Spain in Salzburg on Wednesday, he will not be afraid of making the same ruling.

“I know how much the game means to people,” he said. “It is a very emotional game that generates huge passion. You only have to look at how some English fans react when decisions go against their team. But we get used to all the criticism. We have to take it, accept it and move on.

“I had no choice to ignore the penalty. If I did, where are we going? We’d been advised, before the start of the tournament, to look out for the offence and to try to deal with it. What could I do? It happened right in front of my eyes, I could see the undershirt of the Austrian lad [where his jersey had been pulled up by Lewandowski].

“I’ll do it again if it happens on Wednesday. But I’ll only give a penalty if I think it needs to be given. I’m not looking to make any surprise decisions. I understand why Beenhakker, in the heat of the moment, was so upset but, in the cold light of day, I hope he can see why I gave it. I had to.”

Webb, a Barclays Premier League referee who has served for four years on the Fifa list, has strong Polish links. His brother-in-law is engaged to a Polish woman – “she’s a lovely girl,” Webb said – his financial adviser has a Polish father and, as a sergeant in the South Yorkshire Police, he has worked alongside many second-generation Poles.

Although Webb’s family in Rotherham has not received death threats, Howard Webb, a 62-year-old lighting engineer who lives in the same town, was subjected to abusive telephone calls and e-mails. “Poor man, I feel so sorry for him,” Webb, the referee, said. “But it’s probably only the more extreme elements who have gone so far.”

Webb, who has taken a five-year sabbatical from his police duties, has received only support, from the Football Association and Uefa, the sport’s European governing body.

Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey, the English assistant referees, will officiate with Webb in Salzburg. It was Mullarkey who allowed the Poland goal against Austria last week, when Roger Guerreiro, the scorer, was clearly offside. “We had a debriefing and, yes, it was offside,” Webb said. “Mike was a bit down about it. But it was a positioning error rather than a judgment error. He was out of the right line of sight.

“We’re all delighted to get a second game and, whatever happens next, whether we get a quarter-final or not, it’s been a fantastic experience for us. I’m just hoping for a quieter game on Wednesday – 0-0, no problems. That’ll do me.”