 | |||
| Full name | Graham Poll | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1963-07-29)29 July 1963 (age 62) Hitchin,Hertfordshire, England[1] | ||
| Other occupation | Televisionpundit,newspapercolumnist | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| ?–1991 | Isthmian League | Referee | |
| 1986–1991 | Football League | Asst. referee | |
| 1991–1993 | Football League | Referee | |
| 1993–2007 | Premier League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1996–2007 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English formerfootballreferee in thePremier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His final domestic game in a career spanning 1,544 matches was theChampionship play-off final on 28 May 2007 betweenDerby County andWest Bromwich Albion.[2]
He was the English representative at two World Cups andUEFA Euro 2000, and refereed the2005 UEFA Cup Final.
In his third game of the2006 FIFA World Cup inGermany,Croatia vs Australia, he cautioned Croatian defenderJosip Šimunić three times before sending him off. Poll retired from refereeing international tournament finals matches shortly afterwards, citing his error in the match. He continued to referee in the Premier League, Champions League and on international games, but said he would not allow himself to be nominated to represent the FA at any tournament finals as he felt he had had his chance.[3]
Poll took up refereeing in 1980, progressing from theIsthmian League to become aFootball Leagueassistant referee in 1986. Five years later he became a full Football League referee, before being selected for the list ofPremier League referees in 1993.[4]
Having held aFIFA badge since 1996, he took charge of European matches, including theUEFA Cup final betweenCSKA Moscow andSporting Lisbon in 2005. Poll also took charge of international matches, refereeing at FIFA andUEFA tournaments such asEuro 2000, where Poll took charge ofFrance versusCzech Republic, andNorway versusSlovenia in the group stages.
In the dying seconds of theMerseyside derby betweenEverton andLiverpool on 21 April 2000 with the score at 0–0,[5] the Liverpool goalkeeper kicked the ball intoDon Hutchison's back while Hutchison was retreating towards his own half. The ball bounced into Liverpool's net, but Poll disallowed the goal, claiming that he had already blown the whistle to end the game. The television slow-motion pictures proved that this was incorrect, and after retiring in May 2007, Poll confessed that disallowing the goal had been a mistake that he regretted.[6]
Poll refereed theItaly versusCroatia game at the2002 FIFA World Cup, played on Saturday 8 June 2002. Poll had a busy game, as there were forty-two fouls, three goals scored, two goals disallowed, and two bookings. Poll was given one more appointment at that world cup: Fourth Official toPierluigi Collina in the second round match in which Turkey beat Japan 1–0.[7]
Poll was the only English referee at the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. His first game wasSouth Korea vs Togo. Poll sent offJean-Paul Abalo of Togo for a second bookable offence, and the match was eventually won by South Korea 2–1. His second game wasSaudi Arabia vs Ukraine. Ukraine finished the match as the 4–0 winners, and Poll showed six yellows, three to each side. His last game wasCroatia vs Australia. After already sending off two players, Poll failed tosend offJosip Šimunić for a second yellow card late in the match, eventually sending him off for a third yellow for dissent at the final whistle.[8] Poll stated that he had erred in his second booking of Šimunić, marking his card with the correct number (3) but in the wrong column due to Šimunić's Australian accent, meaning he booked Australia'sCraig Moore instead of Simunic. The game ended 2–2, putting Australia through to the next round. On 28 June, Poll was named as one of 14 officials dismissed by FIFA from the remaining World Cup 2006 matches following his error in the Croatia v. Australia match.[9] Maria Villar Llona, president of the FIFA referee's committee, said of Poll, "He is an exceptional referee and a great sportsman, who will be able to overcome the situation thanks to his strong personality and love of the game."[3]
Poll retired from international tournament finals football on 29 June 2006, citing the error as the reason. He said in his retirement announcement,
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. 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.
In the press release, he also claimed that he had asked FIFA to be allowed to go home, to be with his family after the trauma of his mistake in the match.[3]
He continued to referee in the Champions League and on international games, but said he would not allow himself to be nominated to represent The FA at any tournament finals. "It's time for somebody else in England to have a go and I will do everything I can to prepare them. But for me tournament football is over," Poll said.[3]
His last match was to have been aEuro 2008 qualifying match on 6 June 2007.[10] After it was discovered he took part in an interview which appeared critical of the support referees receive from the FA in the face of criticism by team managers and coaches[11] the match was overseen byMike Riley instead. In August 2007, Poll released his autobiography entitled "Seeing Red", and concentrated on being apundit forBBC Sport's football coverage, and as acolumnist with TheDaily Mail, his feature entitled "The Official Line".[12]
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
Poll made several appearances on the football radio showWorld Soccer Daily, where he was typically asked to provide a view from the point of the referee whenever major controversial issues occur. He also featured weekly on Chappers Premier League Podcast alongside Mark Chapman and Kevin Day. He also featured in theDaily Mail where he spoke on officiating at the highest level, talking about decisions referees have to make. He also appeared regularly as a pundit onSetanta SportsFootball Matters show hosted by James Richardson and Rebecca Lowe. Since 2009, Poll has also appeared as a regular news paper reviewer onSky News Sunrise, and as a writer for DailyMail.com.
Born inHitchin,[1] Poll grew up inBandley Hill andShephall, and attended Ashtree Junior School andAlleyne's School.[13][14] He was married to Julia, until she died in 2023. The couple have two daughters (Gemma and Josie), and one son (Harry). Poll is a QPR Supporter[15] Poll ran in theLondon Marathon on 13 April 2008, finishing in a time of four hours and 20 minutes.[16] The proceeds went to the Iain RennieHospice at Home.[17]Poll walked the SW coastal path in March and April 2025 completing the 630 mile walk in 52 days and raising £15,000 for Breast Cancer Now charity in memory of his late wife Julia.
Poll was born in Hitchin and went to Thomas Alleyne School in Stevenage, before taking up refereeing locally in both the Hitchin Sunday and the Stevenage Sunday League. He had moved to Tring, and then to Reading, so being born in the town 'didn't really come up; I wasn't seen as having any particular allegiance.'
| Preceded by | UEFA Cup Final referee 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FA Charity Shield referee 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FA Cup Final referee 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Football League Cup Final referee 2002 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
