44 CROAUS Poll
"Graham Poll is disappointed at having committed the error, the first such mistake in his 26-year career."
The extremely public nature of the worst mistake in Graham Poll's career must feel an inexecrable curse. To call his mistake infamous is quite an understatement; other referees have made the same administrative error, but none in such a high-profile way with the whole world watching. Poll cautioning Josip Šimunić from Croatia thrice was the highly cruel end to the most remarkable game, brilliantly thrilling for a litany of errors from all three teams on the pitch, though understandable given the trying circumstances.
Šimunić's three cards does not even begin to tell the story of a decidedly incredible night. Australia advanced by virtue of a two-all draw, which eliminated Croatia; a highly emotional tie which went well beyond football, as Poll found to his cost. If it is any consolation to the the English officiating trio - regardless of the Šimunić affaire, they would not have been appointed again anyway.
This really was the kind of night that a World Cup-final AR would make an absolutely decisive crucial mistake, and the quite-tricky-to-spot handling offence which should have resulted in a second penalty to Australia was ultra-clear after replays. By the end, Poll was visibly totally exhausted - I really do not know which referee could have survived this very (very) challenging game.
In so far as it is possible to satisfactorily review what happened that night in Stuttgart, I will do my best! There is only one place to start.
Sanctions for Josip Šimunić
The matchsheet details the offences for which Šimunić was sanctioned for - they were all correctly given isolatedly. 61' was a very well-spotted off-the-ball blocking offence, 90' was the most mandatory card you could wish to see, and after the final whistle the Croatia player dissented at Poll (referee pushed him in response, see below), for which he was cautioned.
So how did he manage to caution him thrice?
Poll tries to explain here, in a widely interesting documentary.
If there was a game for such a mistake, it was this one. The story then of one of the hardest World Cup matches to referee ever, starting with the Key Match Incidents.
Key Match Incidents
7' - Penalty to Australia (holding)?
Australia really should have been given a penalty here - Viduka is excessively held by (dear) Šimunić. Perhaps you can find an argument against penalising that foul, does Viduka fall too easily after the first holding when he can still reach the ball?
Considering the non-vertical movement of Viduka and that Šimunić is holding him from the back, it is very hard to Poll nor his AR Glenn Turner to really get an insight angle into what happens.
In the end I would back Poll's decision (insofar as it was a decision at all) to play on, noting that a penalty would certainly be the optimal decision.
37' - Penalty to Australia (handling) - given
Excellently spotted by the referee from England - a very slight touch on the hand raised into the air was brilliantly detected, his position was perfect here, great call.
58' - Serious Foul Play by Australia no.13?
This incident understandably forgotten to time - a hard tackle which seems to have at least some SFP character. Considering the hardest contact is studs-on-boot, (certainly) not a formal crucial mistake. At least a caution should have been issued though.
69' - Offside, correct?
Very crucial call from Glenn Turner that denied Croatia a 1-on-1 shot, looked tight too. No replay though so we should back Turner!
75' - Penalty to Australia (handling)?
The same player, Stjepan Tomas, who was correctly penalised for a handling offence in the first half did the same in the second - only more blatant! More blatant yes, but certainly much harder to detect with a gaggle of players trying to reach the centred ball too. If you weren't totally confident in your perception, in addition to the question "surely only an idiot would handle it there in such a blatant way?", you wouldn't give this penalty. It was too far away from AR Philip Sharp for him to have any useful input really. A tournament ending mistake - too blatant on replays to accept, unlucky as it is.
CRUCIAL MISTAKE
79' - Goal for Australia: offside?
The goal decisive for the outcome - the equalising goal proved enough for Australia to qualify for the next round. Unfortunately it was scored from a tight but clear offside position. Philip Sharp was selected for the World Cup Final in 2002 and was one of the best assistant referees in the world - but mistaken here.
CRUCIAL MISTAKE
85' - Second Yellow Card to Croatia no.7
On first view I was having trouble finding the justification for this caution - not a reckless foul and that deep in the pitch surely not a SPA. On reflection, it was quite an excellent call by Poll: despite the very deep field-position, Croatia had lots of players forward and with one pass Australia had a lot of space in order to field a very promising attack. Considering the foul was deliberate that tips it over the edge to being a SPA offence. No card wouldn't be a mistake, but I think Poll took the optimal decision here.
87' - Second Yellow Card to Australia no.7
Not only a fully deliberate handling, but one that stopped a promising attack: only one option here. Correct.
90' - Second Yellow Card to Croatia no.3 (not ejected)
A foul that fulfils both the criteria of Stopping a Promising Attack and showing a Lack of Respect for the game. An archetypal yellow card, so an ejection would have been the only possible correct decision.
See above.
TECHNICAL MISTAKE
+93' - Second Yellow Card to Croatia no.3 (third caution for him after 61', 90')
As aforementioned, Šimunić sought out Poll to shout at him after the final whistle, for which he was 'correctly' cautioned.
Approach
As said before, this one of the hardest World Cup games to referee ever. Besides the winner-takes-all nature of the tie (Croatia had to win; Australia needed to not lose, and didn't) it was a clash between two sets of players that ran deep. To quote SBS: "Australia had Zeljko Kalac, Jason Culina, Mark Viduka, Tony Popovic, Josip Skoko and Ante Covic with Croatian ties. Croatia had Josip Simunic - born and raised in Canberra, Joey Didulica - born and raised in Geelong, and Anthony Seric born and raised in Sydney".
The first half was largely quite quiet and Graham Poll did a very good job as referee. After Croatia scored for 2-1 all hell started to break loose. It is criticism on the highest level, but could Poll have done anything differently?
- Poll should be praised for his very good manner and ability to connect with the players, especially Niko Kovač through whom he conversed for the Croatia team.
- Not that it constitutes losing control of itself, but there were some scenes where Poll's actions aroused the impression that the players could partly do what they wanted. For instance, Šimunić's very disrespectful attitude after his caution at 61', and the confrontation that occurred at 72' with no players warned (it wasn't a bad confrontation but was it worth making a point by picking out two players and shouting at them?). Poll wasn't fully in the background but he took the (subconscious?) decision to allow the players to play the match as they were playing it and he would just take his decisions - a different approach could have led to a different result?
- Poll visibly lost his calm in the final stages. His angry reactions at 85' and after the final whistle (including a push on Šimunić) really should be avoided - this certainly wasn't targeted anger - and presented the image of the referee over his head. This was most problematic when he ostensibly disallowed an Australia goal right at the end for running out of time (he doesn't seem to punish the duel just before - clues: whistle language / gestures). Of course it is not difficult to understand why he lost his cool in that game, but nonetheless the fact remains. That being said, his defensive freekick decision at +92' was simply top class and showed mentally he was still with the game.
Balance
Cautioning Josip Šimunić three times was totally unacceptable and without doubt Poll's tournament had to end after this match. I have great sympathy for Poll who has to bare this mistake as a person for the rest of his life.
The rest of his performance in this game could certainly have been a lot worse - it also could have been better. Most problematic for Poll himself was the missed penalty for handling and how he managed the to end of the game on a manner level, particularly the final whistle (disallowed goal, pushing Šimunić). His wider performance also deserved to end his tournament, though we shouldn't forget how hard a match he faced. I hope you understand what I mean with the mark in the matchsheet, with the square parenthesis indicting his mark were it not for the Šimunić affaire.
Philip Sharp did not have his best night either - missing the offside in the decisive goal, and an important mistake besides. One important and one crucial situation for Glenn Turner were not replayed, so we should back him.
A night not easily forgotten, not least for Poll himself.
| Graham Poll - 6,0 [7,5] Philip Sharp - 7,8(1) Glen Turner - 8,4 Kevin Stott Gregory Barkey ENG – USA | Croatia 2-2 Australia Group Stage |
 Šimić (32.) - Delaying the Restart Tudor (38.) - Delaying the Restart Šimunić (62.) - SPA (Impeding) Pletikosa (70.) - Delaying the Restart * Šimunić (90.) - SPA (Holding) | Emerton (81.) - Delaying the Restart |
 Šimić (85.) - SPA (Tripping) * Šimunić (+93.) - Dissent | Emerton (87.) - SPA (Handling) |
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Memorable match from many points of view!
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