Poll, 43, has taken early retirement, but fears he will be forever remembered for showing three yellow cards to Croatia’s Josip Simunic before sending him off last year.

He said: “A lot of tears were shed and it will always live with me. My last thought before I die will probably be ‘why?’

“I thought it was going to be me out of the game — ridiculed for cocking up the World Cup. I didn’t want to face the other referees and yet they all came to see me and gave me a hug.

“There were phone calls from David Beckham and Alex Ferguson. David spoke to me the day before England’s quarter-final with Portugal. He wanted to help me.