Asia PR News

LONDON, 29 June /Reuters/ –

English referee Graham Poll said today he had decided to retire from
international tournaments after his high-profile blunder at the World Cup.

He showed three yellow cards to Josip Simunic of Croatia before sending him
off in the 2-2 Group F draw with Australia on June 22.

A clearly emotional Poll told Sky Sports News he deeply regretted his
mistake which he called inexcusable.

Yesterday, FIFA dispensed with Poll’s services for the rest of the
tournament in Germany.

"What I did was an error in law," said Poll. "There can be no dispute.

"It was not caused by a FIFA directive, it was not caused by me being asked
to referee differently to the way I referee in the Premier League.

"The laws of the game are very specific. The referee takes responsibility
for his actions on the field of play.

"I was the referee that evening. It was my error and the buck stops with
me."

Poll said part of the reason for his mistake was tiredness.

"I couldn’t replay the decisions in my head because I could not recall
them," he said. "I was so fatigued in the 90th minute it doesn’t look like
Graham Poll refereeing.

"Those who are close to me, who know me, in fact any supporters from the
Premier League if they watch those last 10 minutes, they will say that doesn’t
look like Graham Poll refereeing. That’s true."

"The first couple of days after it just came back to me over and over and
over again in my mind. You think you’ll wake up, it’s only a bad dream, but it
isn’t, it’s reality."

Poll said he had even considered retiring from refereeing completely.

"I have been disappointed at the reaction of the media," he said. "It led
me in the first few days to have thoughts of retirement.

"I told FIFA I had no heart to ref another game in this World Cup. It
wasn’t them sending me home, it wasn’t them saying you’re rubbish, go away,
they supported me fully."

Poll said the three major championships in which he had officiated had all
gone wrong for him.

"I’ve refereed at Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and the 2006 World Cup,
none have gone right for me for various reasons," he said.

"If one thing goes wrong it’s unlucky, if two things go wrong it’s really
unlucky, if three things go wrong you have to look at yourself and say
something isn’t right.

"It’s time for someone else from England to have a go. For me, tournament
football is over."

Poll said he had dreamed of becoming the first Englishman to referee a
World Cup final for 32 years.

"I had 30,000 referees in England who had voiced their support for me to go
out and maybe achieve the ultimate, become the first Englishman to referee the
final since Jack Taylor in 1974," he said.

Asked how those close to him had been affected by the controversy, he said:
"They can feel the hurt in me. We need to get together and regroup and one of
the things that needs to happen is for us to be given time and space to get
over it.

"I just appeal to journalists out there to go away from my house, leave my
family alone. It’s time to let me and my family get on with it."

By Tony Jimenez