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He may be good at soccer but GREAT ATHLETES don’t head-butt other players because they said something insulting.
If he was a Great Athlete he would have exibited more self control.
Post Modified: 07/10/06 08:46:52
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Got any idea what Materazzi said to provoke him?
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I was angry at Zidane, but I am waiting for him to explain himself. There are things that can be said that do merit a response. Usually this happens in the game in a way that is disguised. But I think Materazzi said either something racist or about his mother. If so, fair play. Zidane will be remembered as one of the all-time greats regardless.
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I say good on ya Zidane! Livened an otherwise boring game up a bit! They need to bring in a penalty system like Hockey has, allow people to fight some to blow off steam when some dumb racist fuck insults your entire race of people. (not to say that’s what happened here but it has often)
“If he was a Great Athlete he would have exibited more self control.”
If he was a Great rolemodel and person he would have but no body has ever accused him of being that. He is still a great athelete regardless of what stupid things he does.
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punk ass, next you’ll find out he’s been stealing candy from aids babbies…
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I’m not 100% sure how accurate this is, but think this what the exchange was reported as being,
Zidane warned Materazzi by showing the handle of his shirt: – “Ordinanza de tirare il costume!!” (stop to draw my shirt!!)
Materazzi responds to his declaration: – “Taciti, enculo, hai solamente cio che merite…” (F**k you, you get
only what you merit…) – “si e cio…” (and… what’s wrong…)
Zidane went on his way far from Materazzi who said behind : – “meritate tutti ciò, voi gli enculato di musulmani, sporchi
terroristici” (you merit only that, you the f**king muslims, durty
terrorists)
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yes, “dirty terrorist” is what made Zidane lost it.
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Well, he could have been a “dirty terrorist” with the World Cup. But I guess he felt some things merit “Direct Action”. I wish he didn’t give that racist bastard a smack down until after the match, but I cannot blame him. Farewell Zidane, at least you showed up how to deal with racism in our sport.
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That’s what the Guardian claims Materazzi told Zidane, “You are a terrorist.” I hope it’s not the case, and I would like to hear it directly from those involved. Either way, Zidane remains a champion. He deserves the golden ball and to be remembered as such.
On edit: Livened an otherwise boring game up a bit!
Not sure you can call the final “boring”...it was all but boring to me!
Post Modified: 07/10/06 12:31:11
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great header!
“if he was a great athelet we would have exibited more self control” – like maradona, mike tyson, wayne rooney etc..
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Actually, I’m not sure that the Guardian is making the claim. According to everything I have read, a Paris-based anti-racism group called SOS Racism are the ones who are propagating the “fucking muslim, dirty terrorist” story.
No matter what, I am not willing to jump to any conclusion based on “sources.” And even if Materazzi said exactly that, it doesn’t necessarily make him a racist – he very well may be, but a lot of shit is said in matches just to get to other players. What it does make him is a provocateur who got the other team’s captain, who may be the best penalty-taker in the game, booted.
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No matter what, I am not willing to jump to any conclusion based on “sources.” And even if Materazzi said exactly that, it doesn’t necessarily make him a racist – he very well may be, but a lot of shit is said in matches just to get to other players. What it does make him is a provocateur who got the other team’s captain, who may be the best penalty-taker in the game, booted.
Yeah, I agree, sis. I think I read it on La Gazzetta dello Sport that it was The Guardian making that claim, but it may not be accurate. It does not matter to me since neither Zizou nor Materazzi will directly comment on that.
Post Modified: 07/10/06 13:19:00
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If he said it it does make him guilty of racism. We have had to deal with this in our club, with another team telling one of our players to “go back to Africa”. Now, the players who said this may just be using anything to get into another players head, but this cannot be tolerated in any way, shape, or form on a pitch. Soccer is called “the beautiful game” for a reason, and to let this social poison leach into acceptable onfield discourse would denigrate that.
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I personally was disappointed, but not surprised, by Zidane’s action. I am sure he was provoked, although I’d wait before starting calling anyone “racist.” It was the final match of the World Cup, which is a big, huge fucking deal, and both teams were there to win. The tension, pressure, and nervousness on both sides was visible, and I can understand, yet not approve of, that sometimes players may lose their temper and say or do things that do not represent their character.
On edit: and when they do, they usually get “punished” for that (with red cards, multiple-match expulsions, etc.).
Post Modified: 07/10/06 13:27:13
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you merit only that, you the f**king muslims, durty terrorists
them there Italians can be awful racist, dontcha know :)
I thought it was the funniest moment in football, myself, I think I sprayed half a pint of Guinness accross the barman – he was not best pleased
It was the final match of the World Cup, which is a big, huge fucking deal, and both teams were there to win
It’s excusable when an Italian does it? :)
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Dude, you seem very selective in your reading and understanding of things. Where did I say it’s ok or excusable?
I didn’t think any less of Argentina’s or Germany’s teams after their “exchange of opinions” in the quarter final for the same reason. As opposed to you, who promptly started pointing fingers (and in the wrong direction).
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He got hit with too many soccer balls.
Post Modified: 07/10/06 14:24:35
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Typical low-class behavior by an athlete.
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I hope it’s not the case, and I would like to hear it directly from those involved.
I’d say, let’s not jump to conclusions. There are plenty of plausible-seeming guesses out there right now about what it was that he said.
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Dude, you seem very selective in your reading and understanding of things.
well, you’re quick :)
still it was nice to see an Italian footballer actually have a real reason for diving to the ground
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personally i thought it was a superb head-butt
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still it was nice to see an Italian footballer actually have a real reason for diving to the ground
Much as I’d love to be able to defend them against that jab, they totally deserve it…
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You mean the French were not diving?
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I think everybody is overlooking one obvious reason why Zindane got himself thrown out of the game.
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I think everybody is overlooking one obvious reason why Zindane got himself thrown out of the game.
go on enlighten us
Maybe the Italians paid him? :)
Much as I’d love to be able to defend them against that jab, they totally deserve it
what did you think of the Head-butt – I still laugh my ass off every time I see it – don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing it
Post Modified: 07/10/06 14:55:09
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I didn’t think any less of Argentina’s or Germany’s teams after their ‘exchange of opinions’ in the quarter final for the same reason. As opposed to you, who promptly started pointing fingers (and in the wrong direction).
yep – that about sums it up :)
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Three of France’s best shooters were not in the shootout, mighty fishy.
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Three of France’s best shooters were not in the shootout, mighty fishy.
so, the Italians paid him? :)
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Imagine if you had big money on France, and you were looking at a shootout without Zindane, Henry, and Vieira.
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what did you think of the Head-butt – I still laugh my ass off every time I see it – don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing it
Oh, hilarious, totally. Never seen anybody get headbutted in the chest before. Usually it’s purely a nose-mashing move.
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yep – that about sums it up :)
Yep, that you should stop calling people names gratuituously, thank you.
Three of France’s best shooters were not in the shootout, mighty fishy.
Oh great, we were missing the World Cup conspiracy theory…I am sure you’re onto something, keep digging…
Oh, Judy, great pics of Zizou! He is a very sexy man ;-)
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Grrr indeed!
I just finished printing them off at work and putting them on my wall :) :) :)
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The Zidane mystery: What set him off?
BERLIN – Was it something he said? With France and Italy tied in extra time of Sunday’s World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi in the chest and was ejected. France went on to lose on penalty kicks. The day after, still no one knew what the Italian defender might have said to the French star.
“The Italians did everything they could do to provoke Zidane,” France defender William Gallas said.
Seconds before, Materazzi had grabbed a handful of Zidane’s jersey just as a French attack on goal passed harmlessly by. The two exchanged words as they walked back up the field, well behind the play. Then, without warning, Zidane spun around, lowered his head and rammed Materazzi, knocking him to the ground.
The Paris-based anti-racism advocacy group SOS-Racism issued a statement Monday quoting “several very well informed sources from the world of football” as saying Materazzi called Zidane a “dirty terrorist.” It demanded that FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, investigate and take any appropriate action.
FIFA, which reviews all red cards at the World Cup, would not comment on the specifics.
“This is a disciplinary matter now. I can’t give any statements now,” FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said.
Materazzi, meanwhile, was quoted as denying the terrorist comment.
“It is absolutely not true, I didn’t call him a terrorist, I don’t know anything about that,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Materazzi as saying when he arrived with his team at an Italian military airfield.
“What happened is what all the world saw live on TV,” the Italian player said, referring to the head-butting.
Zidane’s agent, Alain Migliaccio, was quoted by the BBC as saying the France captain told him the Italian “said something very serious to him, but he wouldn’t tell me what.”
Whatever it was, it was enough to infuriate Zidane.
“Zizou is someone who reacts to things,” said Aime Jacquet, Zidane’s coach at the 1998 World Cup. “Unfortunately he could not control himself. It’s terrible to see him leave this way.”
Even with the ejection, Zidane still won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player.
Zidane, who came out of retirement to help France qualify for the World Cup and said he would quit soccer completely after the tournament, got 2,012 points in the vote by journalists covering the tournament. The three-time player of the year beat Fabio Cannavaro (1,977) and Andrea Pirlo (715), both of Italy.
Zidane’s red card was anything but unusual. He was sent off 14 times in his career at the club and international level.
At the 1998 World Cup, he stomped on a Saudi Arabian opponent. Sitting out a two-match ban, he came back to score two goals against Brazil in the final.
Five years ago with Juventus, he head-butted an opponent in a Champions League match against Hamburger SV after being tackled from behind.
The reaction to Sunday’s outburst was mixed in France. President Jacques Chirac called Zidane “a genius of world football,” and former Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet said Zidane’s aggressive act was unforgivable for its effect on children watching the game.
“This morning, Zinedine, what do we tell our children, and all those for whom you were the living role model for all times?” French sports daily L’Equipe wrote.
Zidane, whose parents emigrated to France from Algeria, became a proud symbol of a multicultural France and is adored in Algeria.
In the mountains where Zidane’s parents grew up, Atmanne Chelouah carried off a life-size cardboard cutout of the player at “Cafe Zizou” after the red card.
“We are very disappointed,” Chelouah said. “He should have kept his cool.”
But lashing out is nothing new to Zidane, who grew up playing on concrete in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood of Marseille, where fouls and insults are met with instant retribution.
Perhaps he could never shake off that you-or-me mentality.
“You can take the man out of the rough neighborhood, but you can’t take the rough neighborhood out of the man,” striker Thierry Henry said Sunday.
At this year’s World Cup, where Zidane sat out one match for getting two yellow cards in the first round, he sent a message to his teammates. In a rare television interview, he said, “We die together.”
They were ready to go as far as they could for him, yet he punished them.
“He’ll carry that weight for a long time,” France coach Raymond Domenech said of Zidane’s latest red card.
Zidane nearly won the match with a late header after giving France an early lead with a penalty, taking two steps forward to slowly chip the ball into the air while goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon dived to his right.
It was his third goal of the tournament and sixth in the last 10 major tournament matches. He scored three at the 2004 European Championship.
Zidane’s teammates had all wanted to help him to one last trophy. Failing that, they refused to kick him when he was down.
“For all that Zidane has done for the national team, you have to say ‘Thank you and well done,’” said striker David Trezeguet, the only player to miss his penalty kick in the shootout.
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This is pretty much how i feel about this World Cup..
World-Great World Cup, shame about the football
By Paul Radford
BERLIN, July 10 (Reuters) – Italy’s penalty shootout victory over France in a dramatic finish to the World Cup in Germany ended a great tournament, marred only by the action on the pitch.
The World Cup was almost flawlessly organised, attracted great crowds and inspired a carnival atmosphere which turned Germany into one big party zone.
The Germans even got to grips with soccer’s persistent problem with hooliganism, handling the large visiting supporter groups, especially those from England, with great aplomb and allowing everyone to enjoy themselves without fear of violence.
For once, the fans actually behaved far better than the players.
On the pitch, there were too few goals, too few great matches, too few great players, too few upsets and too little goalmouth action.
There were too many fouls and too much blatant cheating by players — in particular diving and feigning injury to earn unfair free kicks and penalties, all unchecked and sometimes even encouraged by coaches.
For once, nobody could blame the match officials. The refereeing was of a surprisingly high standard, even if there were the inevitable mistakes here and there.
UNADVENTUROUS ATTITUDES
The lack of thrills in most matches was mainly caused by the unadventurous attitudes of coaches, many of whom packed their midfields and played with a lone striker up front.
On average the tournament produced fewer goals per game than any other of the 17 previous finals, except for 1990 in Italy, a tournament widely regarded as one of the dullest ever.
As in Italy – and also in England in 1966, another tournament with a reputation for relatively insipid play – one problem was the premature exit of the Brazilians.
Brazil traditionally bring flair and flamboyance to the World Cup.
This time they did not. Their big name players all failed to sparkle and, as a team, they completely failed to provide even half their usual quota of entertainment.
Most disappointing of all was Ronaldinho, who came with the reputation of being the world’s best player but was almost anonymous in Brazil’s five matches.
Equally anonymous was England midfielder Frank Lampard, a player who has gained huge plaudits over the past two years and who did nothing to justify it in Germany.
Few young players emerged to take their place at the summit of world football.
In the final, Italy’s youngest playing lining up at the start was Andrea Pirlo, who is already 27. France had only one player under 26, midfielder Franck Ribery, at 23 one of the few revelations of the tournament.
YOUTHFUL TALENTS
Of the much-vaunted youthful talents of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and England’s Wayne Rooney, there was little to see – though both had suffered serious injuries before the finals.
Argentina graced the finals early on with some scintillating soccer but paid the price for lack of adventure against Germany and went out on penalties at the quarter-final stage.
Italy and France arrived in the final deservedly and Italy played some of the best football of the entire month when they beat Germany 2-0 after extra time in the semi-finals.
But the final itself was a mirror of the tournament, starting with great promise but ending in disappointment.
It was a sad farewell for Zinedine Zidane, one of the few players ever to attain genius level, who was ending his glorious career on the greatest stage of all.
He graced it by scoring an audacious penalty off the crossbar and then finished in disgrace, butting Italy’s goalscorer Marco Materazzi in extra time and getting sent off.
That he was clearly provoked by Materazzi was a reflection of the cynical nature of play at what could and should have been one of the best tournaments ever.
On the bright side, Germany turned out to be splendid hosts who did their best to make their guests from all round the world welcome.
Their somewhat under-rated team showed an attacking spirit and determination which did them credit too and their third place finish was a fitting reward for their enterprise.
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You are just upset because a European team won, just kidding, and all kidding aside, yesterday’s game was a great game, I don’t care what anybody says, and justice was served, because France did not deserve to be up 1-0, having gotten a penalty shot on a terrible call.
But France really came on in the second half, just look at the attempted shots, I was surprised they could mount such an attack.
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It is odd, the image we had before the game of Zidane, the leader, the others following him, he is the best in the game, he makes everybody around him better, and so Zidane’s teammates played their hearts out, Zidane’s header should have gone in, except for a brilliant save by the Italian goalkeeper, time was running out in overtime, suddenly Zidane was gone, and France’s chance to win went with him. Damn.
Post Modified: 07/10/06 21:19:54
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Materazzi insult of Zidane’s sister as ‘prostitute’ led to final red card
An insult about Zinedine Zidane’s sister from Marco Materazzi is understood to have provoked the Frenchman’s extraordinary headbutt for which he was sent off in Sunday’s World Cup final. The Italian was also forced yesterday to deny he called Zidane, whose parents are Algerian immigrants, a “ dirty terrorist”.
While Zidane is expected to clear up the debate within the next week by revealing what was said to him at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday the clues are now pointing towards a remark about the Frenchman’s sister, Lila. It was a confrontation that began with Materazzi grabbing Zidane’s shirt.
It is alleged that Zidane responded by sarcastically telling Materazzi that he could have his shirt as a souvenir at the end of the match. The Italian is alleged to have responded by saying that Zidane could keep it for his sister and then made an extremely derogatory comment about her that version is backed up by lip-readers from the Brazilian TV channel Globo. They claim Materazzi called her a “prostitute”.
Materazzi attempted to head off any controversy yesterday by releasing an official statement with the blessing of the Italian football federation after he was accused of making the “dirty terrorist” remark by an anti-racism group in Italy. The SOS Racism group said “very well informed sources from the world of football” had told it that Materazzi had called Zidane a “dirty terrorist”.
Materazzi said: “It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist. I’m ignorant. I don’t even know what the word means.”
Yesterday Zidane, 34, who made the most graceless exit imaginable from a glittering career on Sunday night, had lunch with the French President, Jacques Chirac, along with the rest of the France team defeated in the World Cup final in Germany.
Zidane will tell a disbelieving French nation over the next week why he bowed out in his last game before retirement in disgrace, only the fourth player to have been sent off in a World Cup final.
Materazzi had refused to comment on the incident and left the stadiumwithout uttering a word to reporters. The judgement upon him will be harsh if it is alleged by Zidane that he did make a racist remark about the player’s parents, who moved from Algeria to settle in La Castellane district of Marseilles.
The family of Zidane, an icon for multicultural France, are not Arabs but Berbers from the Kabylie region of Algeria, a people who have been in conflict with the Algerian government. Zidane describes himself as a “ non-practising Muslim”. His father, Smail, left the village of Taguemoune in Algeria in 1953 to find work, first in Paris and then Marseilles.
But the complications of race and belonging run deep in Zidane’s personal history. In 2001, he was forced to deny publicly that his father was a “ harki” the Algerian term for their countrymen who collaborated with the French during the war between those two countries. That statement came after the abandonment of a match between the two nations at the Stade de France in October 2001 following a pitch invasion by young Arabs chanting in favour of Osama bin Laden.
If Materazzi did describe the Zidanes as “terrorists”, then he has a very tenuous grip on recent French history. The same young pro-Bin Laden French Arabs displayed banners denouncing Zidane as a “harki” a western-French sympathiser.
Yesterday, Zidane’s agent, Alain Migliaccio, said the 34-year-old was simply “very sad” about the way his career, in which he was twice voted Fifa world player of the year, had ended. Zidane was also voted the Golden Ball winner the 2006 World Cup’s best player although the poll was taken before his red card.
“He was very sad for everything that happened,” Migliaccio told BBC Radio Five Live. “He is a human being, not a god. He hasn’t told me exactly what Materazzi said, I know that he was provoked. Materazzi said something very grave to him, I don’t know what it was. I know Zizou [Zidane] will, in one or two days’ time, explain his reaction.
“When I saw him at 2am he was very sad, he didn’t want to end his career like this. He doesn’t say much but bottles it up and then one day explodes.”
Zidane’s previous record for head-butting is damning. He was given a five-match Champions’ League ban in 2000 for doing the same to Jochen Kientz of Hamburg when he was at Juventus. He was sent off during France’s victorious 1998 World Cup campaign for stamping on Faoud Amin of Saudi Arabia.
He was known for a shortness of temper at the start of his career in Cannes when he reacted badly to taunts about his race or origins. There is a story in France attributed to a scout who watched Zidane as a young boy that fits Sunday’s events. In the game in question Zidane was crudely tackled, picked himself up before walking over to his assailant and knocking him out with a head-butt.
In Italy they have another explanation. In Italy, Internazionale are mocked as an overspending, poorly run side doomed to failure. The joke is that Materazzi’s provocation was simple: he just asked Zidane if he fancied playing for Internazionale.
An insult about Zinedine Zidane’s sister from Marco Materazzi is understood to have provoked the Frenchman’s extraordinary headbutt for which he was sent off in Sunday’s World Cup final. The Italian was also forced yesterday to deny he called Zidane, whose parents are Algerian immigrants, a “ dirty terrorist”.
While Zidane is expected to clear up the debate within the next week by revealing what was said to him at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday the clues are now pointing towards a remark about the Frenchman’s sister, Lila. It was a confrontation that began with Materazzi grabbing Zidane’s shirt.
It is alleged that Zidane responded by sarcastically telling Materazzi that he could have his shirt as a souvenir at the end of the match. The Italian is alleged to have responded by saying that Zidane could keep it for his sister and then made an extremely derogatory comment about her that version is backed up by lip-readers from the Brazilian TV channel Globo. They claim Materazzi called her a “prostitute”.
Materazzi attempted to head off any controversy yesterday by releasing an official statement with the blessing of the Italian football federation after he was accused of making the “dirty terrorist” remark by an anti-racism group in Italy. The SOS Racism group said “very well informed sources from the world of football” had told it that Materazzi had called Zidane a “dirty terrorist”.
Materazzi said: “It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist. I’m ignorant. I don’t even know what the word means.”
Yesterday Zidane, 34, who made the most graceless exit imaginable from a glittering career on Sunday night, had lunch with the French President, Jacques Chirac, along with the rest of the France team defeated in the World Cup final in Germany.
Zidane will tell a disbelieving French nation over the next week why he bowed out in his last game before retirement in disgrace, only the fourth player to have been sent off in a World Cup final.
Materazzi had refused to comment on the incident and left the stadiumwithout uttering a word to reporters. The judgement upon him will be harsh if it is alleged by Zidane that he did make a racist remark about the player’s parents, who moved from Algeria to settle in La Castellane district of Marseilles.
The family of Zidane, an icon for multicultural France, are not Arabs but Berbers from the Kabylie region of Algeria, a people who have been in conflict with the Algerian government. Zidane describes himself as a “ non-practising Muslim”. His father, Smail, left the village of Taguemoune in Algeria in 1953 to find work, first in Paris and then Marseilles.
But the complications of race and belonging run deep in Zidane’s personal history. In 2001, he was forced to deny publicly that his father was a “ harki” the Algerian term for their countrymen who collaborated with the French during the war between those two countries. That statement came after the abandonment of a match between the two nations at the Stade de France in October 2001 following a pitch invasion by young Arabs chanting in favour of Osama bin Laden.
If Materazzi did describe the Zidanes as “terrorists”, then he has a very tenuous grip on recent French history. The same young pro-Bin Laden French Arabs displayed banners denouncing Zidane as a “harki” a western-French sympathiser.
Yesterday, Zidane’s agent, Alain Migliaccio, said the 34-year-old was simply “very sad” about the way his career, in which he was twice voted Fifa world player of the year, had ended. Zidane was also voted the Golden Ball winner the 2006 World Cup’s best player although the poll was taken before his red card.
“He was very sad for everything that happened,” Migliaccio told BBC Radio Five Live. “He is a human being, not a god. He hasn’t told me exactly what Materazzi said, I know that he was provoked. Materazzi said something very grave to him, I don’t know what it was. I know Zizou [Zidane] will, in one or two days’ time, explain his reaction.
“When I saw him at 2am he was very sad, he didn’t want to end his career like this. He doesn’t say much but bottles it up and then one day explodes.”
Zidane’s previous record for head-butting is damning. He was given a five-match Champions’ League ban in 2000 for doing the same to Jochen Kientz of Hamburg when he was at Juventus. He was sent off during France’s victorious 1998 World Cup campaign for stamping on Faoud Amin of Saudi Arabia.
He was known for a shortness of temper at the start of his career in Cannes when he reacted badly to taunts about his race or origins. There is a story in France attributed to a scout who watched Zidane as a young boy that fits Sunday’s events. In the game in question Zidane was crudely tackled, picked himself up before walking over to his assailant and knocking him out with a head-butt.
In Italy they have another explanation. In Italy, Internazionale are mocked as an overspending, poorly run side doomed to failure. The joke is that Materazzi’s provocation was simple: he just asked Zidane if he fancied playing for Internazionale.
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Fifa launches inquiry into Zidane head-butt
Football’s world governing body, Fifa, is to launch a disciplinary investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt on Italy’s Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final.
The Frenchman was shown a red card after head-butting the Italy defender in extra time of Sunday’s game in Berlin. Theories have abounded as to what Materazzi might have said and the former Everton defender, 32, concedes he did make an offensive remark. “I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned to me and talked to me, jeering,” he said yesterday. “He looked at me with a huge arrogance and said, ‘If you really want my shirt I’ll give it to you afterwards’. I replied with an insult, that’s true.” Materazzi did not elaborate on what he said but has denied some of the more vile insults suggested in the media.
Zidane, who received the Golden Ball award for the best player in the tournament,has yet to speak on the incident but his agent claimed that the reaction had been due to a “very serious” comment.
Materazzi denies racially insulting Zidane’s female relatives or calling him a terrorist. “It was one of those insults you’re told dozens of times and that you often let fall on a pitch,” Materazzi said. “I did not call him a terrorist. I don’t even know what an Islamist terrorist is. For me the mother is sacred, you know that.”
Any comments made will be a key element in Fifa’s investigation. Zinedine was only dismissed after the intervention of the fourth official, as the referee, Horacio Elizondo, did not see the incident.
Several reports had suggested that officials used video evidence before making the decision, which is against regulations, but Fifa has denied this. A statement read: “The incident was directly observed by fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo from his position at the pitchside, who informed the referee and his assistants via the communications system.”
Cantalejo told a Spanish radio station Cadena Ser yesterday: “I saw it happen live, I didn’t invent anything. The ball was elsewhere and that was where the referee was looking, while the linesman was getting back into position.”
The red card brought an undistinguished end to Zidane’s glittering career but he has received much support in France.
The President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, said yesterday he had sent a letter of support to Zidane, who is of Algerian descent. “I sent a personal letter on my behalf and on behalf of all the Algerian people to express my solidarity and my friendship to Zidane, and to give him some comfort,” the president said after talks with Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair. “He was a demi-god of the World Cup, but five minutes later he became something that sportsmen should shy away from. He has not lost his own human dimension.”
Cantelejo rejected suggestions from the France coach, Raymond Domenech, that the dismissal had been provoked by replays. “I respect his opinion, but that is not what happened,” the Spaniard said. “I don’t know what Materazzi said beforehand, but there were protests about the action and [Gianluigi] Buffon went to talk to the linesman. When everything calmed down I told Elizondo what happened.”
- Raymond Domenech will stay on as coach after leading France to the World Cup final. Domenech, who took over from Jacques Santini after Euro 2004, accepted an extension to his two-year contract.
Post Modified: 07/11/06 19:20:51
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Materazzi admits insulting Zidane
Marco Materazzi admits he insulted Zinedine Zidane before the France captain head-butted him in the World Cup final. Materazzi denies calling him a “terrorist.”
“I did insult him, it’s true,” Materazzi said in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I’m not cultured and I don’t even know what an Islamic terrorist is.”
Zidane and Materazzi exchanged words after Italy broke up a French attack in extra-time of Sunday’s final in Berlin. Seconds later, Zidane lowered his head and rammed Materazzi in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
Zidane was sent off, reducing France to 10 men. Italy won the game in a penalty shootout.
“I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned round and spoke to me, sneering,” the Italian defender said. “He looked me up and down, arrogantly and said: ‘If you really want my shirt, I’ll give it to you afterwards.”’
The 32-year-old Inter Milan player did not elaborate exactly on what he said to Zidane.
“It was one of those insults you’re told tens of times and that always fly around the pitch,” he said.
Media reports, based on interpretations by lip-readers, have suggested that Materazzi called Zidane a terrorist or insulted his mother or sister. Materazzi denies these claims, too.
“For me, the mother is sacred, you know that,” Materazzi told the newspaper.
Materazzi is no stranger to controversy. He was suspended for two months for punching Siena defender Bruno Cirillo after a Serie A game in February 2004, and earned condemnation following a brutal tackle on Sweden and Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in October 2005.
Materazzi was also sent off three times while playing for Everton in the 1998-99 season.
One Italian senator even suggested that Materazzi didn’t merit selection for the Italian team because of his physical style.
Zidane also is known for having a temper. He was sent off for stomping on a Saudi Arabian opponent at the 1998 World Cup, while at Germany 2006 he was banned for France’s group match against Togo.
Five years ago with Juventus, Zidane head-butted an opponent in a Champions League match against Hamburger SV after being tackled from behind.
Meanwhile, Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni accused FIFA of double standards, noting that soccer’s governing body named Zidane as the tournament’s best player after his head-butt, while Italy forward Francesco Totti was kicked out of the 2004 European Championship for spitting in an opponent’s face.
“I notice a difference in the way in which Totti was treated after the spit and the way in which Zinedine Zidane has been lauded as a champion of soccer, even though he is held responsible for such a violent blow that it could even have had devastating effects,” Veltroni said.
FIFA announced Tuesday it will open a disciplinary investigation into Zidane’s conduct.
FIFA also said that the ballot box for the tournament’s top player – voted by journalists – was open until after the final had ended, making it impossible to know how many ballots were cast before the match and during it.
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I’m not cultured and I don’t even know what an Islamic terrorist is.”
that sounds weird
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