Referee Poll retires from tournaments

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) English referee Graham Poll said today he had decided to retire from international tournaments after his high-profile blunder at the World Cup.

He showed three yellow cards to Josip Simunic of Croatia before sending him off in the 2-2 draw with Australia on June 22.

A clearly emotional Poll told Sky Sports News he deeply regretted his mistake which he called inexcusable.

Yesterday, FIFA dispensed with Poll's services for the rest of the tournament in Germany.

''What I did was an error in law,'' said Poll. ''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.'' REUTERS DH VV2133