The chief referee of the Professional Game Match Officials is returning to England.
The World Cup and the Champions League finals were all refereeed by the same person, in the same year.
He is the general manager of the PRO in the US and Canada.
He will leave that position at the end of his contract, but his start date is not known.
He was the manager of video assistant referee operations for PRO before being promoted to his current position in the middle of last year.
The Yorkshireman became a Select Group referee in 2003 after starting his career in 1989.
He was appointed director of referees for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation a year after retiring from his job as technical director of the PGMOL.
It's a great opportunity for me. I aim to use the elite referee development plan as a real driving force and I am very proud of what has been accomplished during my tenure here.
"Howard's return is a major coup and this is a fantastic opportunity for Howard and the new leadership team to build on the strong foundations," said Mike Riley.
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