Poll blows the whistle on ‘worst culprit’ Mourinho

GRAHAM POLL has branded Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as the “worst culprit” of the Premier League managers for his personal criticism of referees.

The England official retired at the end of the season following a career which had taken him to the World Cup twice and also put him in charge of the UEFA Cup and FA Cup finals.

The 43-year-old highlighted several issues following his decision to quit the game early, citing the Football Association’s lack of support after a bust-up with Chelsea as a major factor in his decision, describing the governing body as “inherently weak”.

Blues and England captain John Terry had been dismissed for two bookings in a game against Tottenham last November. The defender later claimed the referee had changed his reasons for the sending-off, while it was also suggested Poll had wanted to ‘teach Chelsea a lesson’.

The official accepts it is part of the game to have decisions of the officials debated, but feels attacks on an individual’s personal integrity are totally unacceptable.

Asked who was the “worst culprit” in the Premier League, Poll declared: “At the moment, Jose Mourinho — which is very, very disappointing given his ability as a coach.

“He is clearly a very talented tactician and is a great motivator of men. The frustration is he does not need to do it.

Poll continued: “If the whole discussion post-match had been whether I was right or wrong to send Terry off, then I have no issue with that.

“The key point a referee must have is his integrity and questions such as ‘do you have a grudge against this team or that team?’ is utter nonsense.

“The problem is because it is being raised by managers, that has been allowed to pervade into the game.

“A few years ago the integrity of a referee in England was never in question. Now it is becoming so and that is why I feel so strongly about not just this case but so many others as well.”

Despite often drawing criticism himself for ‘loving the limelight’, Poll feels he can use his high profile to help improve the attitudes towards refereeing in the future.

However, Poll does not feel the introduction of video technology would necessarily improve the game.

He explained: “Referees would love to get every decision right, and when they make a clear and obvious error it is something which troubles us.

“But what you have to bear in mind is that if you open Pandora’s Box, the ills of the world are out there.

“If you start to analyse one decision, then what is the next one?

“If you stop and analyse a contentious decision, who is to judge when it is controversial, contentious or disputable? That is the difficulty.