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Template:Wikify-date As is typical of sporting champsionships, the 2006 FIFA World Cup created its fair share of polemical situations.

NOTE: Please add to this article and expand, cite references, etc.

Refereeing

Errors

• 3 Yellows, Croatia vs. Australia - In the first round game between Croatia and Australia, referee Graham Poll issued a yellow card to Josip Simunic of Croatia at the 61st minute. At the 90th minute, Poll issued another yellow card to the same player but failed to send him off, as required by Rule 12 of "The Rules of Football" - A player, substitute or substituted player is sent-off and shown the red card if he/she...receives a second caution in the same match. Three minutes later, Poll issued a third yellow card along with a red and sent the player off. Neither Poll, his two assistants, nor the fourth official realized that Simunic received two yellow cards until after the match. This created some controversy and discussion because of the potential that it created for annulling the match; had Croatia won the match by scoring a goal with the player still on the field, Australia would have had grounds for an appeal to replay the match. However, the error turned out to be inconsequential as the final score of 2-2 allowed Australia to move on as the 2nd place team from its group. This would not have changed had Australia won the match. A statement from FIFA Referees Committee President Angel Maria Villar Llona defended Poll but also conceded he had made a mistake. "Thursday evening's 2-2 draw between Croatia and Australia in Stuttgart saw referee Graham Poll make an error." Poll explained his mistake by saying that he "incorrectly noted down the name of the Australia number three Craig Moore when booking Simunic for the second time and failed to realise his error."

Questioned Calls

• England vs. Paraguay

- Peter Crouch repeatedly penalised for fouls, despite video replays showing no foul play in numerous instances.

• Japan vs Australia

- Goal awarded to Japan after apparent obstruction with Australian goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer.

• Ghana vs. USA

- Penalty awarded to Ghana in injury time of first half. Video replay appears to show no foul by USA player.

• Croatia vs. Australia

- On video replay, the player scoring Australia's second goal (Harry Kewell) appears to have been offside. A second deliberate handball by Stjepan Tomas (Croatia) in the penalty area was not given, after a similar incident, also committed by Tomas, in the first half was penalised by the referee, Graham Poll.

• Tunisia vs. Ukraine

- Penalty awarded to Ukraine late in the second half, although the replay appears to show Schevchenko tripping over his own feet. ]

• Portugal vs. Netherlands

- Luis Figo may not have been hit by Dutch player Khalid Boulahrouz, and therefore the red card issued because of this "offence" may not have been justified.

- Luis Figo receives a yellow card despite head-butting Dutchman Mark van Bommel, usually a red card offense, as stated by Law 12 of "The Laws of Football" - A player shall be sent off if he/she is guilty of violent conduct.

• Italy vs. Australia

- Penalty awarded to Italy with less than 15 seconds of regulation time remaining, even though no illegal contact was apparent. The FIFA website describes the incident, where Socceroo defender Lucas Neill committed to a sliding tackle in the penalty area, as "Lucas Neill went down to make the tackle and Grosso tumbled over him."

Unusual Results

• Australia vs. Brazil

- Markus Merk, the central official, awarded 25 free kicks to Brazil compared to 9 for Australia. According to Football Federation Australia (FFA) officials Merk also refused to talk to Australian skipper Mark Viduka when approached during the game to explain certain refeering decisions. A team captain is permitted to ask a referee for clarification of decisions during a game, assistant coach Graham Arnold said the Socceroos were denied this right by Merk. This was part of the evidence used by the FFA to help defend Harry Kewell's after-match verbal argument with Merk, which (pending a FIFA enquiry) threatened his participation in Australia's following match against Croatia (the enquiry later cleared the player of any wrongdoing).

• Portugal vs. Netherlands

- This second round game created some controversy due to the record number of bookings given by referee Valentin Ivanov. He gave a total of 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards. On this occasion, the president of FIFA Sepp Blatter publicly criticised his performance.

Player Disputes

• Togo coach resigns and players threaten to strike over pay dispute. (Please expand)

Other

• England vs. Trinidad and Tobago

-Peter Crouch pulls Trinidad and Tobago defender Brent Sancho's dreadlocks while scoring the first goal.

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• 2006 FIFA World Cup