Poll later said the problem began in his booking log rather than in his view of the fouls themselves.
That matters because elite refereeing is built on routine. Writing, checking and confirming are supposed to be automatic. In this case, the report says one broken step in that chain allowed the match to continue until a third caution forced the red card.
The remarkable part was not just the wrong note, but the lack of an immediate correction. At a World Cup, there are multiple layers of support around the referee, yet this one slipped through. Poll was already among the most experienced officials at the tournament, which is why the mistake landed with such force.
The report also says Poll reflected on whether Simunic’s Australian accent may have added to the confusion in the moment. Even if that was only a minor factor, it shows how quickly identification, emotion and administrative detail can collide in a high-pressure match.
This was not a tactical debate or a soft penalty argument. It was a process failure in the middle of the sport’s biggest event. That is why the Simunic episode still gets revisited whenever football discusses referee communication, record-keeping and, later, the case for more technological support.
Nearly two decades on, the story remains a reminder that even the most experienced official can be caught by one small lapse. The next time refereeing protocol comes under the spotlight at a major tournament, this will be one of the first incidents people remember.