Posted on 07/10/2006 1:28:36 PM PDT by Caravaggio
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 BCC 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.
(Excerpt)
The Mike Tyson of soccer?
"You are the equivalent of the most exciting blade of grass that one could watch grow, or the quickest to dry of a section of a painted wall that a person could be made to watch dry, or the least dull of the most dull thing to be forced to observe."
"On top of all of that, you are a 'less-than-completely-French' person on a team representing a country that has defeatism as a natural character. I fart in your general direction. Leave me or I will taunt you another time!"
If that were the case, the ref could have given him a green, blue, yellow, orange OR red card.
Comments about your mother and sister make 'dirty terrorist' seem like a kiss on the cheek.
That's just good strategy. Esp if you have a hothead star you can "get to". Not just to make him do something like this -- but to get under his skin, to throw his game off.
Now if Materazzi had called Zidane a "Frenchman," then the attack would have been completely justified. :)
Did he say it in English so they both could understand it?
So a "terrorist" is now a "race" in France.
Somehow I don't see the connection to high school 2 a day football practices and Zidane.
It doesn't matter what was said.
There is no excuse for what he did.
video clip
It's hard to fit 100,000 troops on a single aircraft carrier.
Zidane is no more a moslem than I am. He is 3rd generation French.
The Italian (Materazzi) has a woefull reputation for dirty play. He called Zidanes mother a nigger prostitute and wished her an early death. Zidanes mother has been taken into hospital that morning.
Whilst what he did was stupid I ask anyone here how they would have reacted under the same provocation
Look for something involving race, his mother, and a besmirching of the glory that is France.
2nd lipreader now reporting that his mother was called a terrorist whore
Yep. Just watched the video and that's what it looks like. The Italian had his hand in a sensitive area and Zidane got p!$$3d .
Another "Break" fan.
http://tonaz.altervista.org/zidane.html
use the mouse to control Zidane
And virtually threw away the WORLD CUP with his actions....makes no sense.
Yep. Even if my theory is correct...it's still hard to fathom considering all that was on the line.
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