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.
Somehow I very much doubt that the French players were perfect gentlemen with no trash talk coming from them.
Materazzi said that Zidane's sister had hairy armpits. This, of course, implied that Zidane's sister was French -- the ultimate insult which he could not ignore.
He's the goat.
Though Dodge may want to hire him to do their Ram Charger commercials.
Talk about an ironic post....
I'm afraid I couldn't disagree more. Italy had the stronger offense the entire match and France was all too mindful of Italy's 2 late-game goals to cinch the win and prevent a Sudden Death kick-off. And Zidane and his team needed to preserve a regulation time tie, they had the advantage in the event of a kick off. If anything, Zidane could feel the pressure mounting as Italy pressed and succombed to the trash talk. Usually a hothead or rookie mistake. Not usually the mistake of a champion.
and would resort to whatever was necessary to place themselves at a comparative advantage.
Again - trash talk. Both sides do it, use it to try to psych out the other guy. Zidane, a seasoned veteran and star, was stupid to fall for it. He should have recognized he was being baited.
You really should look at the facts of what happened before spouting off.
1) He is not arab
2) He never claimed the whole terrorist thing- a lip reader payed by a newspaper did.
Pretty much your entire post is wrong.
I already said he was stupid to fall for it.
As do all the Italy apologists. The entire team is enmeshed in scandal, corruption, thuggery, with some like Materazzi having a long history of being dirty players, yet some here proclaimed them to be great heroes.
I'd like to see the transcript of some serious Croquet trash-talking.
And I really hope your IQ isn't yours!!! LOL
I think that is what the 22 is.
Acting like total trash is nothing to be proud of.
That's pretty absurd. So because he's an Arab he should just take being called a terrorist? Being of mid-east background I would have done the same thing to the Italian. Not to say it was right to do it was wrong, but neither is it right to throw such rash ridiculous slurs.
Looks like he fell for the trap his opponets set for him. They baited him, he rose to it, and got booted out for it.
You're behind the curve. He called me a terrorist was yesterday, he insulted my mama is today.
Guess the Clinton/Chiraq opinion research poll said it wasn't playing well.
The head-butting incident only served to overshadow what should have been the biggest story of all . . . that the "World Championship" of soccer ended up being determined by what is arguably the dumbest things I've seen in modern sports: the soccer shoot-out.
He lied and SAID he'd been called a terrorist. But it wasn't TRUE.
Complicated, huh?
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