Book description
The most high-profile referee this country has ever seen, the
controversial and opinionated Graham Poll exposes the myth that referees
are the game's silent men, and opens the lid on the shocking and often
unbelievable world of football that few outsiders get to see.
Seeing Red is Graham Poll's incisive insight into football from his
prime position as the man in black, the one in control, the eye that
sees all. A Premier League referee since 1991 and ten years as an
international referee, Graham Poll has handled some of the toughest
games in the Premiership involving Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool
and Chelsea, as well as European Championships and World Cups - in total
over 1500 matches.
What is it like to referee the biggest matches in international
football? What really goes on between the players in the tunnel before a
match and in the dressing room after? Who are the nastiest footballers?
And the funniest? Who is the smartest manager? And are the bureaucrats
ruining the beautiful game?
Controversial and opinionated, Poll has crossed swords with some of the
biggest names in world football and shares private conversations with
the likes of Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Sepp Blatter and Steve
McClaren, and the inside story behind controversial incidents involving
Roy Keane, David Beckham, Patrick Vieira and current England captain
John Terry, among others. Poll also talks about the infamous 2006 World
Cup match when he failed to send off a Croatian player after three
yellow cards in a crucial tie against Australia, returning home early in
disgrace and with his career in meltdown.
The games, the players, the managers, the suits - the most outspoken
referee in the modern game tells it as it really is. 'Undoubtedly
Graham Poll has been this country's top referee over the past ten years'
Sir Alex Ferguson
'England's No 1 match official has lifted the lid on the
disillusionment shared by many colleagues' Daily Mail
'Poll's story is an interesting one. His behind-the-scenes material is
frequently insightful and often funny.' Birmingham Post
'Poll's fascinating response to years of criticism as one of England's
top officials is far more interesting than the standard fare trotted out
by most players these days - it also evokes the rarest of things in a
football fan: sympathy for the refeee.' 442 Magazine Graham Poll was
born in 1963. A one-time employee of Nike - where he turned down a Sales
Directorship to pursue a refereeing career - he has over 27 years of
experience as an FA Premier League and international referee. As well as
refereeing the 2006/07 UEFA Cup final, he has been the English
representative at two World Cups and Euro 2000, and has handled games
from the Bernebeu to the San Siro, and from Old Trafford to Stamford
Bridge. He retired from refereeing in the summer of 2007.
Mick Dennis has worked as sports editor of the Evening Standard and
football correspondent for the Daily Express. In his spare time, he is
also a football referee.
