英格蘭籍裁判格雷厄姆?波爾也許還沒有結束他在世界盃上最後的執法。

　　如果澳大利亞和克羅地亞都抗議2-2 的比賽結果，那麼波爾的技術上的錯誤——三張黃牌變一張紅牌也許會使澳大利亞與克羅地亞的比賽進行重賽。

　　國際足聯聯絡部主席塞格勒爾Markus Siegler表示裁判委員會將在下星期三決定哪些裁判會在第二輪結束後繼續留下來。他説道，“這名有經驗的裁判對自己的失誤非常失望，這也是他26年裏第一次犯這樣的錯誤。裁判委員會同時也注意到現場的其他官員們也沒有指出這個錯誤。”

　　鏈結：

　　http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-wcup-refereereview&prov=ap&type=lgns

　　原文：

　　No immediate exit for Poll

　　By JOHN PYE, AP Sports Writer

　　June 24, 2006

　　BERLIN (AP) -- English referee Graham Poll might not have officiated his last match at the World Cup.

　　Poll's technical blunder -- issuing three yellow cards to one player in a match -- could have forced a replay of the 2-2 draw between Australia and Croatia in a crucial Group F match if either team had protested the result.

　　Critics immediately called for the veteran Premier League official to be sent home.

　　FIFA communications director Markus Siegler said the referees committee would decide Wednesday which officials will stay after the second round and issued a statement Saturday outlining Poll's credentials.

　　"The experienced official is disappointed at having committed the error, the first such mistake in his 26-year career," Siegler said. "The referees committee also recognized the oversight and the fact that none of the match officials at the stadium picked up on the error."

　　FIFA referees committee president Angel Maria Villar Llona described Poll as "an exceptional referee and a great sportsman who would be able to master the situation."

　　Poll told a review panel that he mistakenly noted the name of Australian defender Craig Moore, wearing the No. 3 shirt, when booking Croatia defender Josip Simunic, also wearing No. 3, in the 61st minute.

　　Instead of ordering Simunic off when giving him a second yellow in the 89th, Poll "allowed him to stay on the pitch thinking he had only booked him once ... and failed to realize his error," the statement said.

　　"Immediately after blowing the final whistle, Poll gave Simunic another yellow card before finally showing him the red."

　　FIFA president Sepp Blatter had earlier said it was "inexcusable" that the linesmen and fourth official, who all share a communications system, had not alerted Poll to the mistake.

　　Poll's error could have had wider implications.

　　A World Cup qualifying match had to be replayed after a referee's technical error, although it has never happened at the final tournament.

　　Football Federation Australia chief executive John O'Neill said he would have protested the result if Croatia had won and advanced at Australia's expense. The draw was sufficient for Australia to reach the second round.

　　In other news, Siegler said the extraordinarily high rate of red and yellow cards in the first round has helped open up play at the tournament.

　　In the first 48 matches in Germany, 18 red cards were handed out -- one more than the entire 2002 World Cup. The 258 yellow cards issued so far amounts to 5.37 per match, one more per game than in 2002 when a total of 208 yellow cards were shown in the first round.

　　Siegler said attacking "players are better protected," and the result was good for the game.

　　"Instructions given to the referees are not new -- there's no new laws," he said. "However, it's of fundamental importance that the referees at the World Cup use it as a platform to show the whole world how actually the laws should be applied.

　　"A new phenomenon with the elbowing is certainly under closer observation."

　　Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing United States forward Brian McBride in the face as he jumped for a header during the 1-1 draw at Kaiserslautern last weekend. McBride needed three stitches to close a cut near his left eye.

　　Also, Germany 2006 spokesman Jens Grittner said organizers had sold nearly 2.5 million tickets for the first 48 matches, more than 99 percent of capacity. The average number of fans at each match was 51,759, the second highest average ever. The 1994 World Cup in the United States had an average attendance of 68,991.

　　作者——韓明冰，北京外國語大學

責編：盧爽