Bell Tolls for Poll
English referee Graham Poll has retired from officiating at international tournaments citing his three yellow card error in the Australia v Croatia match in Stuttgart as the reason.
42 year old Poll has been a FIFA accredited international referee since 1996 and has previously officiated at tournaments such as Euro 2000 in Belgium/Netherlands and World Cup 2002 in Japan/Korea.
The Hertfordshire official took full responsibility for his actions during the fateful Group F match, blowing time on his international career.
“What I did was an error in law. 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,” Poll said.
“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.”
A dejected Poll almost hung up his whistle for domestic matches as well, however he will continue as a referee in the English Premier League and has FIFA’s full support.
“It’s time for another English referee to have a go,” he told Sky Sports News.