Seeing Red (26 page)

And he said I will be able to have ‘a few tickets'. So Julia can book a flight and hotel and be fairly certain it will not be in vain. What a great day. Who needs alcohol?

Tuesday, 6 June 2006

Following a rest day, it was back to the early starts and a bike ride. But it was only thirty-five minutes – hardly worth showering afterwards.

Summer has arrived and later we trained in beautiful sunshine. We started with another relaxation exercise; lying on the running track. They played crowd noises to see if we could relax amidst a baying crowd. The recording did not include the well-known English song about me, so I was perfectly relaxed.

In the afternoon I was interviewed by
Kicker
magazine, had a technical meeting with José Maria and a trip to a dentist. I had lost a filling. Just before the drilling started, the dentist asked, ‘So, who vill vin da Vorld Cup?' I replied, ‘Deutschland, naturlich.' Only when he had finished did I
inform him that I was joking and that ENG-ER-LAND will win!

Still awaiting confirmation about tickets for our game but Julia has booked the flights anyway. My gang will experience the World Cup and will understand just what it's all about.

Wednesday, 7 June 2006

During a practical refereeing session, I was pulled up for my hand signal when giving a throw-in. My hand was ten degrees too low apparently. Then I was pulled up because my thumb was sticking up when I awarded a penalty.

After lunch we had an official visit to Frankfurt city hall, and the mayor said in her speech that the ball was not over the line in 1966. She made one very good point, saying, ‘A decision that you are obliged to make in a split second could well be remembered for decades.' A sobering point – and she forgot to say that the only decision remembered for so long would be a wrong one!

In the evening, with considerable difficulty, I found a hotel for Julia and the kids to stay at. Everything is set. I was asleep by 9.30 and had my best night for two weeks.

Thursday, 8 June 2006

After two weeks of preparation, the tournament starts tomorrow.

Today began well with an excellent, high-intensity training session further enhanced by having to make refereeing decisions at the end of each run. We then refereed a four-aside game in pairs to bring styles closer together and aid consistency.

I had salad for lunch. Alcohol abstinence is not having the desired affect. I still need to lose weight.

We had a short session on the Referee Communication System – the microphones and earpieces. We went around the grounds of the hotel testing the tiny mike and fitted earpieces and are all impressed with them.

Next up was a golf trip. I was paired with Kevin Stott, the American referee, and managed to win the first three holes with birdie, par, and par. Kevin weighed in with a couple of holes and we won seven of the nine holes and halved the other two.

It was a hot day and, as I played the eighth, I decided to give in and have a beer when I finished the ninth. One wouldn't hurt. But in the end I ordered a diet Coke – the ultimate sacrifice.

Dinner was excellent and afterwards the English and the Aussies ‘borrowed' the DVD player and adjourned to my room to watch
The Shawshank Redemption
.

This was the best day so far. Now for the football.

Friday, 9 June 2006

We went for a 7 am bike ride only to discover, after breakfast, that our first official session of the day was to be – a bike ride. Then had a good game of football tennis. My team won 21–17 and Phil and Glenn were on the other team so the victory was sweet.

Glenn and I then had a quick set of tennis against a Canadian assistant and an American assistant. The English boys took one hell of a beating. We lost 6–0. Gemma, the family's ace tennis player, would have been ashamed of just how bad Glenn was. I wasn't much good either. Must have been the racket.

All this was the calm before the storm – because the World Cup finally got underway today with the first two games.
Da
da daaa, dada dadada, dada dada da daaaa
. (Work it out. It's a football theme tune.)

Germany beat Costa Rica in Munich and the game went exceptionally well for the Argentine officials, who seem like a nice trio. I was impressed with the style and calmness of Horacio Elizondo and the way his assistants read the many tight offside situations. He will be one to watch as the tournament progresses.

In the second game Poland lost to Ecuador and, for me, Toru Kamikawa, the Japanese referee, let a little too much go.

I can't wait for my first game.

Saturday, 10 June 2006

This was MD minus three (three days to my match day) and so we had the final tough training session this morning. It was tiring but I felt very strong. In my group for the run was the Mexican, Archundia, who pushed us all the way, untroubled by the heat.

At 1.30 pm we left for the stadium to watch England play Paraguay. The number of England fans was incredible. They were only supposed to have 8 per cent of the tickets, about 3,500. There must have been nearly ten times more than that.

Security was tight. Even with VIP passes and all-areas accreditation, it still took the referees twenty minutes to get into the ground. In the VIP area I chatted with Alan Ball and Geoff Hurst and gave in to the champagne suppliers who were very insistent – really they were.

When we went out to look at the stadium – wow, England flags and banners were everywhere. But the heat was oppressive and I could not help thinking about my game, which will also kick off at 3 pm.

Prince William made an appearance in the VIP area and the Australians were most impressed. They say they don't want OUR Royal family any more but were in awe of the Prince.

The match started brilliantly for England, with Paraguay conceding an own goal. But not much else to talk about in the first half other than a complete poser of a referee who showed a lot of naivety in his decision-making.

At half-time we chatted to Freddie Flintoff and Steve Harmison. It seemed to me that FF had been at the lager for a long time.

‘Hi, Pollie', said Freddie.

‘All right, Fred,' I said. A standard reply. ‘How do you see the first half, Fred?' Small talk.

FF said, ‘Well, I reckon it's OK if we sit tight on the 1–0 lead.'

I said, ‘We have to be careful, they could be like Sri Lanka!' A joke.

FF said, ‘F*** off. You touched a f***ing nerve there, Pollie.'

‘Well I'd best be careful. You look bigger in the flesh Fred!' Another joke.

‘And I'm harder so take care!' Don't know if he was joking.

The second half of the match was absolutely dreadful, as no doubt you have all seen, and we were glad to get back to our hotel and settle down for the other two games. In between the two was the official debrief on the two Friday games. It was incredibly positive and clearly designed to bolster confidence. What a contrast to four years ago. Let's hope it continues.

Sunday, 11 June 2006

MD minus two. It was weigh-in day and once again my weight has come down – 0.1 kg or 100 g. That is insignificant – but better than going up.

After training, José Maria gave his final instructions to referees with imminent matches. He was pleased with the start referees have had but said that now we need to ensure consistency.

I usually communicate my decisions to the crowd. That is seen as strength in England but not here. Today's matches provide examples of this undemonstrative style and there is no communication with players. But that is a strength of my game and I will use it.

In today's debrief, the gloves came off for the Singapore referee who missed two red card tackles by a Trinidad and Tobago player. Luckily the same player was later sent off for two yellow cards. Nobody wanted to confirm that the ref got it wrong. José Maria was upset by what he perceived as a lack of honesty. He said, ‘Our strength comes from inside this room. Everyone outside wants to kill us so within this room we MUST be honest and learn from each other's mistakes. This will be hard work from match one to match sixty-four but we must do it as WE will be the winners of this World Cup.' A passionate speech and one which made everyone BELIEVE again – well said José Maria.

I went to prepare my kit for packing tomorrow after training. I am getting really excited. Things are going well and I BELIEVE that my game will provide exactly the challenge I am looking for. No complacency but masses of desire.

Monday, 12 June 2006

MD minus one. I phoned Dad to wish him a happy seventy-third birthday.

The debrief meeting was once again positive but we were reminded that only eight games have been played of a total of sixty-four. That is the same as 12.5 minutes gone in a football match. We must keep up the good work. This was a timely comment as the Egyptian referee on the first match today had a poor game.

At 4 pm, we left for our city centre hotel, a fifteen-minute drive away, and our team of five were in high spirits. The relief to finally leave for OUR game was huge with a mixture of nerves, excitement and pure pleasure.

The new hotel is very nice although the bedrooms are inferior to those at our ‘home', the Kempinski. Julia called to let me know they had arrived safely at their hotel, somewhere nearby in the same city. It was good to feel that she was close.

Thank you all for your messages of support. I hope to produce a strong performance. It might not be 100 per cent ‘Pollie' because of the instructions not to mime offences etc, but I hope it is one that makes you all proud.

Tuesday, 13 June 2006

MD. Match Day. After four years of hard work the day had arrived for me to demonstrate to the World that I am a good referee. I could not help but think back to Japan and how bad I felt after the game there. I was absolutely determined not to let that happen again.

I'd had a dreadful night's sleep but still felt great physically and the family arrived to pick up their tickets. It was absolutely fantastic to see Julia, Gemma, Josie, Harry and
Laura. That was how to prepare for a game – being showered with love and affection after not seeing my family for nearly three weeks. We spent an hour together just chatting and catching up.

I had a meeting at 11.30 with my team to discuss tactics and instructions for the game and at 12.30 we left for the stadium. I had made a disc of lively tunes and we cranked up the volume.

I had to turn my phone off at midday to stop being affected by the huge number of good luck texts I was receiving. I wanted the game to be as normal as possible and having a 3 pm kick-off was a help.

Going out onto the pitch for the game, with the fantastic colours all around and the heat and noise hitting us, was a really emotional time. In the line-up I thought of all of my family, the early pitches I used to referee on and, finally, the job in hand.

Our concentration was broken by the PA system playing the Korean anthem twice, which delayed the kick-off.

Once we started, I was quickly into my stride and feeling good despite the heat. We were having problems with our communication system just before going out and sure enough within fifteen minutes of the start of the game we stopped using it.

A key moment was twenty-two to twenty-three minutes in: two cautions for Togo who were starting to flex their muscles.

The Koreans came from behind to win 2–1 and a really good game left me feeling immensely satisfied at a job well done. Fitness was excellent, detection of fouls was good and disciplinary action strong – four yellows and one red card. The only error was in issuing the second yellow card. For
some inexplicable reason I showed the red card first – I had never done this before and am sure will never do it again. That should not be an issue in the debrief tomorrow but …

Back in the dressing room, Justice Yeboah, who is a church minister at home in Ghana, gathered us together in a circle and gave a prayer of thanks – a moment of calmness and serenity and one which affected us all.

The assessor was delighted with the performance. He said it was the first of this World Cup to have personality shining through. That is my style and I wouldn't want to referee any other way.

We had dinner at a delightful restaurant which the German team use when they play in Frankfurt. Phil caused hilarity by ordering beef carpaccio and asking if it could be ‘well done'. I had plenty to drink because there was plenty to celebrate. At last my tournament jinx was buried and I felt very confident in delivering a strong tournament.

Back in the hotel room by nine o'clock. An immensely satisfying day. My only doubt was that using the cards wrongly may have detracted from the overall performance.

Wednesday, 14 June 2006

Woke up with a slight hangover. I'd forgotten how good they feel!

Breakfast was sweet as José Maria congratulated me warmly on ‘an excellent performance full of personality'. Of the error he said, ‘Forget it. After all you English drive on the wrong side of the road, so we expect this kind of thing!'

So the morning passed in a semi-daze and I allowed myself the indulgence of looking forward to another game.

The debrief was good. The cards error was highlighted but it was certainly not a major issue.

Later there was a game of water volleyball. My team won 15–13. I am knackered but very, very satisfied and in danger of starting to BELIEVE this could be my World Cup.

Thursday, 15 June 2006

I was trapped in my room all morning with a badly upset tummy. I'll spare you the details but I was glad room service were not respecting the public holiday and turned up to replenish the loo rolls.

I had a massage and a little electric therapy for a bruised leg I picked up just before half-time in my game. I know none of you noticed, but a Togo player ran into me and his knee gave me a dead right leg for the second half. I performed despite a wound!

The bruising is coming out now so will be fine whenever I have my next match.