England's Gary Neville dismissed criticism yesterday from FIFA chief Sepp Blatter for a lack of attacking football at the World Cup. Unimpressed by England's 1-0 win over Ecuador, Blatter told Berlin daily Tagesspiegel: "I'm pleased that very attacking football is being played.
"The English are an exception, they played in the second round with one striker. That's not the sort of attacking football you expect from a team that aspires to the title."
The comments did not go down well with the England camp. Experienced defender Neville told a news conference: "I don't listen to Sepp Blatter because I don't want to, because I've got a World Cup quarter-final and so have 21 other players on Saturday.
"And I don't want to hear negative things and people telling us how bad we are. People can say whatever they want. Our frame of mind playing for England is positive. You wouldn't expect us to be any different, would you?"
Poll quits tournaments
English referee Graham Poll said yesterday he had decided to retire from international tournaments after his high-profile blunder at the World Cup.
He showed three yellow cards to Josip Simunic of Croatia before sending him off in the 2-2 Group F draw with Australia on June 22. A clearly emotional Poll said he deeply regretted his mistake which he called inexcusable. On Wednesday, FIFA dispensed with Poll's services for the rest of the tournament in Germany.
"What I did was an error in law," said Poll. "There can be no dispute.
"It was not caused by a FIFA directive, it was not caused by me being asked to referee differently to the way I referee in the Premier League.
"The laws of the game are very specific. The referee takes responsibility for his actions on the field of play. I was the referee that evening. It was my error and the buck stops with me."
Zidane misses training
France captain and playmaker Zinedine Zidane missed training yesterday but should be fit to play Brazil in their World Cup quarter-final tomorrow, a team spokesman said.
The 34-year-old Zidane, who will retire after the finals, took a knock in Tuesday's 3-1 second round win over Spain and stayed at the team's hotel to receive treatment on a minor injury.
"It's a precautionary measure," the spokesman said.
France have one more training session planned today in Hanover before facing Brazil in Frankfurt.
Defender Gael Givet, a reserve who has played no part in the tournament so far, also missed yesterday's session because of a cold.
Polish coach Janas resigns
Polish coach Pawel Janas has resigned rather than wait for an official decision on his future in two weeks, senior football association (PZPN) official and member of parliament Ryszard Czarnecki said yesterday.
"I spoke to Janas yesterday. The decision has been taken. He will not be the coach any more," Czarnecki, head of the association's international division told public television.
PZPN chief Michal Listkiewicz maintained that Janas's future remained open until a meeting of senior officials on July 14. But he added he had been talking to a number of candidates for the job.
Media and fans have been calling for Janas's head since the Poles' World Cup hopes were scuppered by first-round defeats by Germany and Ecuador before a consolation victory over Costa Rica.
Lehmann likes posh hotel room
Germany want to beat Argentina and stay in the World Cup because the players have become attached to their five-star hotel and do not want to leave it, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann joked yesterday.
Lehmann said the pampering they are getting at the exclusive hotel built in a luxurious 95-year-old villa in Berlin's poshest quarter was a small but important motivating factor.
"Even if we have a free day to go wherever we want, a majority of us, or many of us anyhow, feel so comfortable at the hotel that we decide to stay there. It's just fantastic," Lehmann said.
The Schlosshotel in Grunewald, used by Hollywood stars during the Berlin Film Festival, is one of the most expensive in Germany with suites costing up to 3,000 euros per night.
Ukraine enjoy $8m bonus
Ukraine's players will receive a shared $8 million bonus for reaching the World Cup quarter-finals and coach Oleg Blokhin said hard work should always be well rewarded.
"Do you think they should just play for a 'thank you'?" Blokhin asked reporters. "For good work you receive good money. If the players had been playing badly, they wouldn't have got a penny."
Ukraine have surpassed their pre-tournament aim of reaching the knock-out stage so anything else is quite literally a bonus.
Blokhin stressed that money was not the main motivation for the players, but rather national pride.
"They are playing for national honour... it is also work," he said.