Zidane

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Zidane apologizes for violent conduct during World Cup final, says Materazzi insulted his family
By ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press Writer

PARIS (AP) -- An apology, but no regrets and no detailed explanation on what set him off.
That's where French soccer star Zinedine Zidane left things Wednesday during widely broadcast television interviews that attempted to decipher his ugly head-butting of an Italian opponent during the World Cup final.

He did say he was spurred by cruel insults to his mother and sister. But the exact exchange between France's captain and Marco Materazzi remains a mystery. Zidane never was specific about what enraged him. So, for the moment, the words stay between them.

"I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that," he told the Canal-Plus television network, stressing that Materazzi's language was "very harsh," and that he uttered the insults several times.

In his first public comments since Sunday's match, Zidane repeatedly apologized to fans -- especially to children. But he said he didn't regret the abrupt, violent outburst that marked the end of his illustrious 18-year professional career.

"I tell myself that if things happened this way, it's because somewhere up there it was decided that way," the 34-year-old midfielder said in an interview on TF1 television. "And I don't regret anything that happened, I accept it."

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 with Zidane in the locker room.

The act of aggression marred the end of the World Cup, with many warning it would tarnish the legacy of Zidane, who retired after the tournament.

Wednesday, he stressed he felt no regret "because that would mean (Materazzi) was right to say all that."

"There was a serious provocation," Zidane said. "My act is not forgivable. But they must also punish the true guilty party, and the guilty party is the one who provokes."

For days, sports fans around the world have been riveted by the question: What could Materazzi have said to set Zidane off in the last few moments of his illustrious, 18-year career? 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. At nearly the same moment Zidane was on TV, excerpts from a Materazzi interview were posted on an Italian paper's Web site. He denied insulting Zidane's mother.

"I didn't say anything to him about racism, religion or politics," Materazzi told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "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."

Zidane "has always been my hero," Materazzi said. "I admire him a lot."

Materazzi spoke to Zidane in Italian. Zidane, who played several years for Juventus in 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."

FIFA's disciplinary committee opened an inquiry Tuesday into Zidane's behavior. His red card was not unusual: Zidane was sent off 14 times in his career at the club and international level.

Despite his temper, Zidane is better known for his sportsmanship and dancer-like technique. He is a national hero for the French and a symbol of a young, multicultural France. Born to Algerian immigrants, Zidane grew up playing on concrete in an impoverished neighborhood of Marseille.

President Jacques Chirac has had only kind words for Zidane since the match -- reassuring him that France still "admires and loves him." Many in France already have pardoned Zidane: A poll published Tuesday in Le Parisien newspaper showed 61 percent of the 802 people questioned forgave Zidane.

Zidane said many people have asked him not to retire, but he said he would not change his mind.

"I won't go back on it, at least I hope so. ... It's definitive," he said.

Zidane told TF1 television he was "going to rest, and then move on to something else."

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.

Original Source : http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-wcup-zidane&prov=ap&type=lgns

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Ok, for those lazy people out there who didn't actually read the whole thing, we can almost confirm that Zidane did what he did because he was insulted by Materazzi. (So I guess my "Zidane-headbutt-coz-he-wants-to-go-Bang-Sai" theory is proven wrong eh?) . And he apologizes for his outrage but still didn't regret what he did. Which makes me wonder how sorry can he feel.

He practically took Materazzi down because of an insult. But you know whats the real problem here? Little kids and teenagers everywhere (Especially in France) would have watched or at least heard of the Zidane incident. And Zidane is not just some ordinary footballer who gets a red card and everyone forgets about him. He's the super star player for France for goodness sakes. All the kids look up to him. By doing that, some kid fans would think that its ok to headbutt anyone who insults your family.

This match has been watched by billions of people all around the world. And while people like us would have gone "WTFish??" after witnessing that, other kids might be thinking "WOW..So that what you do when someone insults you eh??? You can headbutt someone, get a red card and STILL get the Golden Ball Award and be treated like a Hero!'

So, the next time before you go beating someone up for insulting you, take a few seconds to just stop and think.

In other words, use your head la!

Of course, I'm sure Zidane heard that little voice asking him to use his head.

And He did!

Literally



Now, the world is gonna be filled with lil' kids headbutting people.

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HEY!!! This is my 99th post on this blog!! The next would mark my 100th post!

Congrats to me!