The World Cup

[ilyxkelly]

I'm basing my assumptions on the US coverage of the Cup, which was all I could get. They showed replays like it was the NFL and talked about the stupidest stuff during the game. They did show the replay of Malouda and it looked to be quite a dive. They also said the sideline official was staring at the screen in the stadium where they were replaying the headbutt. The ref saw this and carded Zidane. The card was too late to have been from the ref seeing it. But again, this is only what I saw on ESPN.


I'm not defending Zidane. I know the Italian was probably talking trash but that's not a good enough reason, even if you grew up being discriminated against. I'm saying either FIFA should embrace modern technology and use more refs or a replay during big games or they should repeal the call against Zidane. (Again this is based on US coverage, if people were in the stadium and they didn't replay the headbutt, I'll retract my statement.)

 

[leafnebula]

r u KIDDING?!?!?! that was a great headbutt cuz it dropped the guy lol

 

[melaniecampbell]

I'm 100% behind Zidane on this one. That Materrazzi rat is lucky it wasnt someone more bad tempered, and only the mild mannered zidane.

They have hired professional lip readers to see what was said. After the Materrazzi mutt pinched Zidane's nipple he said "an ugly death to you and your family" and something about his terminally ill mum being a terriost (she is Algerian)

Who wouldnt of floored the mutt after hearing that, world cup or not.

 

[AlexisInfectious®]

Good on you bro.

 

[Betho]

If it was a great headbutt then Materazzi would have had a broken nose and lost most of his front teeth! So thank goodness Zidane aimed for his chest. (Although it would have been better still if he hadn't done it at all!) Materazzi could have stayed on his feet if he'd wanted to.

 

[ChrisinaJ]

1) Zidane is not an Angel! That needs to be big as people don't seem to realise that he has a history of violence, including headbutts and stamps and quite a number of red cards.

As for the lip readers, you can't trust them. Every lip reader has come up with a different translation. I think there are at least 5 versions of what was said so far, ranging from insulting his sister to mocking the Juventus scandal, to insulting Zidane's (dead) ex-coach, to calling his mother a terrorist whore.
Conclusion: We will probably never know the truth. Zidane will come out with it soon, but will we be able to trust what he says?

You don't have any facts, and those that you think you have are wrong, so you should refrain from calling Materazzi a "mutt" until you know the truth.

 

[AyeshaM]

Matterazzi clearly said something that pushed Zidane over the edge. Whatever it was, was so bad that ZZ completely lost his head, World Cup Final or not, last football match or not.

 

[MichaelWisyourdaddy]

You're going to be on edge in a World Cup final, it could have been something that isn't so serious. Since he is a renowned headbutter, it may not have taken much to set him off. Regardless until we know the truth, Materazzi is not mutt.

 

[EggrollJenkins]

"Renowned headbutter"?

If Zidane was the thug you make him out to be, then he would hardly have
the high reputation that the has in the game.

There are plenty of bad lads in the game who have great talent, but whose reputations follow them round like a bad smell. Zidane on the other hand has been held in very high esteem by his fellow professionals for years. A few incidents and red cards over a long career don't make him a thug.

 

[Hinoeuma]

I didn't say he was a thug. He headbutted someone in a World Cup final. He heabutted someone in a Champions League game. He headbutted an opposition player in a youth game, whilst scouts watched him. And that's just the ones that I know of.

 

[albeewj3]

Zidane has headbutted, stamped and elbowed players before, He has recieved something like 11 red cards in his career. He is well known for having a short fuse, especially during his the begining of his career.

I can't believe that Zidane headbuts someone, and everyone is going around blaming Matterazi. Atleast wait until we find out what he actually said before you start judgeing him.

 

[Jessikah]

there is a limit to what constitutes playful banter, whatever Matterazzi said clearly crossed that line and then some. If it was race related he deserves a punishment as severe as Zidanes, if it was related to Zidanes mother then maybe Matterazzi unwittingly hit a very raw nerve.

Either way Zidane is still one of the greatest football players of all time, which I think is all that should matter at the end of the day.

 

[jags2009]

thats not what I said at all. I said if it was race related he needs to be punished.

 

[Sharia206]

It would be hard to prove, since no one else was close enough to have heard. But if it could be proved that it was a racial insult, then I'm sure that FIFA would act swiftly to ensure that their anti-racsist policies are upheld - just like they did with Luis Aragones.

Which would mean fining Materazzi about 50p and telling him not to do it again... please.

 

[suretteeL]

You already seemed to have jumped to the conclusion that it was race related based the the fact that Zidane attacked him. You seem to be assumming that he'd only attack him if it was race related, so that automatically means that he can really do no wrong.

 

[marc180]

Mind you that is 11 red cards over just under 20 years. Also considering for the majority of those he would have been heavily marked and is bound to have been targeted by various defenders- I wouldn't say its exactly a terrible record. He's no Gary Lineaker but I really don't think he's a Vinnie Jones type player.

 

[jmeday]

For all we know, Materazzi called Zidane "baldy". Jumping to conclusions about racism seems daft since we know that Zidane has had outbursts in the past. Until we know better, he is the one in the wrong.

 

[cliftonphotographer]

Pretty sure it's 14 red cards. Anyway, at least 3 headbutts in his career, at least one stamp (Zhan Shi mentioned elbows but I don't remember it personally), this is not a "mild mannered" person, or someone for whom elbowing is "out of character" - two quotes from this thread.

 

[iluvmyman]

I've not assumed anything, my statement clearly began with an 'If', a lot of the press and a lot of the lip read interpretations so far have pointed to some form of racial abuse aimed either at Zidane directly or at one of his family members. I have already laid down another potential scenario that may have caused Zidane to act like that, one that did not involve racism at all.

I do not believe that it was a bog standard insult like Matterazzi has claimed, particularly as Zidanes agent has already described is as a very severe one.

 

[LaComtesse]

And so?
First of all, today Materazzi clearly stated that DIDN'T say Zidane anything like terrorist or regarding his mother or sister.
Lips readers weren't capable of interpreting anything concrete and consistant.
Second, it was Zidane that started pulling Materazzi, saying: "if you want my shirt, I'll give it to you as a present" meaning Materazzi is a inferior league guy and other stuff.

Third, if a guy passed on the street saying some insult to you, would you headbutt him that way?

Insults happen in every match of every sport! Football, american football, rugby (fistfights happen very often, too), basket... that doesn't justify a phisical aggression like that Zidane has done.
No way!
Be serious, people. There's NO justification of Zidane behaviour.