Really? Trash talking is all of a sudden a banishable offense? The Italian Materazzi merely unmasked Zidane for the jerk he is. (Maybe that's what the two games are for?)
ML/NJ
Trash talking is all of a sudden a banishable offense?Not all of a sudden but all of the time. From the FIFA Disciplinary Code:
“Trash talk” is uncivilized and disgusting behavior. It must not be tolerated.Article 52—Serious infringements
A player is sent off if he commits one of the following infringements (cf. Law 12 of the Laws of the Game and art. 19 above):
- serious foul play such as excessive or brute force;
- brutal action such as violent or aggressive conduct;
- spitting at an opponent or anyone else;
- denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball;
- denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the opposing goal by committing an infringement punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick;
- making offensive, insulting or abusive remarks;
- second caution during the same match (cf. art. 18 par. 2).