 | |||
| Born | (1963-07-29)29 July 1963 (age 62) Hitchin,Hertfordshire, England | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Televisionpundit,newspapercolumnist | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| ?–1991 | Isthmian League | Referee | |
| 1986—1991 | The Football League | Referee | |
| 1991–1993 | The Football League | Referee | |
| 1993–2007 | Premier League | Referee | |
| 1996—2007 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Graham Poll (born 29 July 1963) is an English formerfootball referee in thePremier League.
With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most famous referees in English football. He was 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.[1]
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 time 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 disallow himself to be nominated to represent the FA at any tournament finals as he felt he had his chance.[2]