Posted on 07/12/2006 12:07:19 PM PDT by winner3000
PARIS - French soccer star Zinedine Zidane apologized for head-butting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final, saying Wednesday that he was provoked by insults about his mother and sister.
"I apologize, to all the children" who watched the match Sunday, Zidane said in his first, highly-awaited comments about the act of violence that marked the end of his career.
Zidane did not specify exactly what Italian defender Marco Materazzi said that enraged him, but that it was insulting to his sister and mother.
"I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that," Zidane said, stressing that Materazzi's language was "very harsh."
Zidane and Materazzi exchanged words after Italy broke up a French attack in extra-time. 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 went on to win in a penalty shootout.
The France captain said he felt no regret for his act, "because that would mean (Materazzi) was right to say all that."
At nearly the same moment Zidane was appearing on French TV, excerpts from an interview that Materazzi gave to Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport were posted on the newspaper's Web site.
"I didn't say anything to him about racism, religion or politics," Materazzi told the Gazzetta. "I didn't talk about his mother either. I lost my mother when I was 15 and even now I still get emotional talking about her. Naturally, I didn't know his (mother) was in the hospital, I give her my best wishes."
"He's always been my hero, I admire him a lot."
For days, sports fans around the world have been riveted by the question: What could Materazzi have said to set Zidane off? Media from Brazil to Britain hired lip readers to try to figure it out, then came up with different answers.
Materazzi has acknowledged he insulted Zidane, without giving specifics.
Materazzi spoke to Zidane in Italian. Zidane, who played for several years at Turin club Turin, speaks Italian.
Despite the head-butt, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball award for best player at the World Cup — though FIFA president Sepp Blatter has suggested Zidane could be stripped of the honor.
"The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists," Blatter said in Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "That said, FIFA's executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene when faced with behavior contrary to the ethics of the sport."
In France, many have already pardoned Zidane, even without his explanation. A poll published Tuesday in Le Parisien newspaper showed that 61 percent of the 802 people questioned forgave Zidane.
Zidane is a real looser ! In the past he received many warnings about his TEMPER !
Chirac and Zidane are the same liars about how they live therir lives.
They both STINK !!
Looking at pictures of him, anything said about mom and sister was bound to be a compliment by comparison.
My roommate had an indiscreet head-butt incident in college, but I won't get into details.
"Your mother was a hamster and your sister smelt of elderberries!"
I don't know why he bothered with the press conference. He first apologizes, then he says he didn't have any regrets about his action. He sounds like John Kerry about it.
So, not physically attacking someone who says insulting things equals approval of those insults? Mmmmm Kaaaaayyyy...
He never claimed the Italian guy said terrorist. That was a British "lip reader" claiming she could lip read spoken Italian off profile angle video. IOW, BS.
Looks near certain he said something about the guy's sister.
It's difficult to imagine greatness being associated with soccer. But that's just me.
He's human. Everyone has a limit of how much crap they can take. After playing for 110 minutes and listening to that idiot all the time and after suffering constant "nipple tweaks", I guess his fuse was out. I completely understand him but wish he didn't do it... oh well, he's human.
Every sport on earth has trash talk, it is up to the competitors to tune it out and play the game. That is what champions are made of.
Yo' momma!
This is the problem with soccer: the governing body seeks to take away an award which it does not bestow. World soccer is more byzantine and maybe more corrupt than the UN!
He should have expected dirty tricks from the Italian side, and been smart enough not to fall for them. It should have been obvious to him as the match went on that the Italian side would feel themselves incapable of defeating France even up, and would resort to whatever was necessary to place themselves at a comparative advantage.
Materazzi did what had to be done for Italy to win, and Zidane was stupid enough to fall for it.
The French could have stopped the game and had the Italian player arrested, oui?
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