Post by Scott on Jun 23, 2006 15:11:38 GMT
From The Telegraph:
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has said that English referee Graham Poll must not be excused for his yellow card blunder during the game between Australia and Croatia in Stuttgart last night.
Poll, 42, failed to send off Croatian defender Josip Simunic after booking him for the second time in the dying minutes of the 2-2 draw which sent Australia through to round two.
Only when a third yellow card was shown, at the very end of the game, was Simunic dismissed.
Poll, one of the most experienced and respected officials at the World Cup, could lose out on officiating further matches if, as is likely, Fifa look down on his performance.
"I place my trust in the referees committee," said Blatter. "I think they have enough tact to deal with this case.
"We should not forget that Graham Poll in this previous matches achieved fantastic things.
"Of course, we cannot excuse it but we should understand it."
Blatter said he did not expect "total perfection" from referees but he was aghast that none of the four officials had spotted the error.
"I have to say I'm not surprised about the reaction," he said. "We have had four officials and what is not understandable is that nobody intervened.
"I can't understand - it's like a black-out. That's why I say we are all human beings.
"There are people there and one of them should have intervened and run on to the field and said, 'Stop, stop'."
However, Fifa themselves seem to be at odds with what happened.
Match statistics, published on the official World Cup site, indicated only two of Simunic's three cautions. The second card, shown in the 90th minute, was omitted.
But it is thought that Simunic's first card, shown in the 61st minute following a foul on Harry Kewell, was under scrutiny after the match.
Poll, who must file his own report on the game, now awaits the judgement of Fifa's referees committee to learn if his World Cup is over.
Twat.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has said that English referee Graham Poll must not be excused for his yellow card blunder during the game between Australia and Croatia in Stuttgart last night.
Poll, 42, failed to send off Croatian defender Josip Simunic after booking him for the second time in the dying minutes of the 2-2 draw which sent Australia through to round two.
Only when a third yellow card was shown, at the very end of the game, was Simunic dismissed.
Poll, one of the most experienced and respected officials at the World Cup, could lose out on officiating further matches if, as is likely, Fifa look down on his performance.
"I place my trust in the referees committee," said Blatter. "I think they have enough tact to deal with this case.
"We should not forget that Graham Poll in this previous matches achieved fantastic things.
"Of course, we cannot excuse it but we should understand it."
Blatter said he did not expect "total perfection" from referees but he was aghast that none of the four officials had spotted the error.
"I have to say I'm not surprised about the reaction," he said. "We have had four officials and what is not understandable is that nobody intervened.
"I can't understand - it's like a black-out. That's why I say we are all human beings.
"There are people there and one of them should have intervened and run on to the field and said, 'Stop, stop'."
However, Fifa themselves seem to be at odds with what happened.
Match statistics, published on the official World Cup site, indicated only two of Simunic's three cautions. The second card, shown in the 90th minute, was omitted.
But it is thought that Simunic's first card, shown in the 61st minute following a foul on Harry Kewell, was under scrutiny after the match.
Poll, who must file his own report on the game, now awaits the judgement of Fifa's referees committee to learn if his World Cup is over.
Twat.
