Zidane-confrontation With Marco Materazzi

Honours UEFA Club Football Awards, Best With Girondins de Bordeaux Midfielder: 1997-98 • UEFA Cup runners up: 1995/1996 • World Soccer Player of the Year: • UEFA Intertoto Cup:1995 1998 • FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998, 2000, 2003 With Juventus F.C.: • FIFA Silver World Player of the • Italian League - Serie A champions Year: 2006 • FIFA Bronze World Player of the (scudetto): 1996/1997, 1997/1998 • European Super Cup: 1996 Year: 1997, 2002 • European Footballer of the Year • Intercontinental Cup: 1996 (Ballon d'Or): 1998 • Italian Super Cup: 1997 • UEFA Champions League Most • UEFA Champions League runners Valuable Player: 2001-02 up: 1996/1997, 1997/1998 • UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll (Best European player of the past 50 With Real Madrid: years): 2004 • FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Award: • Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003 2006 • UEFA Champions League: • FIFPro World XI Team:2005,2006 2001/2002 • Onze d'Or:1998,2000,2001 • Intercontinental Cup: 2002 • UEFA European Championship Most • Spanish League - La Liga Valuable player:2000 champions: 2002/2003 • FIFA All-Star Team:1998,2006 • European Super Cup: 2002 • UEFA BEST XI:2001,2002,2003 Personal honours: With France • Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion • FIFA World Cup d'honneur: since 1998[46] o Winner: 1998 • Torchbearer for the 2004 Summer o Runner Up: 2006 Olympics o Appearances: 1998, 2002, • Prince of Asturias Awards 2006 • European Championship nomination in the Sports category, 2006.[47] o Winner: 2000 •

o

Appearances: 1996, 2000, 2004

Preceded by new creation

Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 1997

Succeeded by Ronaldo

Preceded by Inaugural Winner

UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder 1997-98

Succeeded by David Beckham

Preceded by Ronaldo

World Soccer Player of the Year 1998

Succeeded by Rivaldo

Preceded by Ronaldo

European Footballer of the Year 1998

Succeeded by Rivaldo

Preceded by Ronaldo

FIFA World Player of the Year 1998

Succeeded by Rivaldo

Preceded by Rivaldo

FIFA World Player of the Year 2000

Succeeded by Luís Figo

Preceded by Andriy Shevchenko

Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 2001

Succeeded by David Trézéguet

Preceded by Stefan Effenberg

UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player 2001-02

Succeeded by Gianluigi Buffon

Preceded by Ronaldo

FIFA World Player of the Year 2003

Succeeded by Ronaldinho

Preceded by Oliver Kahn

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball 2006

Succeeded by Incumbent

Confrontation with Marco Materazzi

Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final (see animated image). In the 110th minute of the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, Zidane was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest in an off the ball incident. The two players exchanged words before Zidane began to walk away from him. Materazzi then said something to Zidane, who turned around, made a run-up and head-butted Materazzi in the chest, sending him to the ground. Although play was halted, referee Horacio Elizondo did not appear to have seen the confrontation. According to match officials' reports, Fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo informed Elizondo of the incident through his earphones. After consulting his assistant referees, Elizondo showed Zidane the red card and sent him off. [edit] Provocation

Since video footage suggested that Materazzi had provoked Zidane, newspapers had lip readers try to determine what Materazzi had said, coming up with a variety of insults. In his first, highly awaited comments since the World Cup final, the French soccer star only partly explained what caused him to react in fury and head-butt an Italian opponent: repeated harsh insults about his mother and sister.[18] Materazzi admitted insulting Zidane, but said that Zidane's behaviour had been very arrogant. He stressed that the insults had been trivial.[19][20] Zidane later stated that Materazzi had seriously and repeatedly insulted his mother and his sister and that he would "rather have taken a blow to the face than hear that". He also apologized to viewers, particularly children and educators, but said that he did not regret his offence because he felt that this would condone Materazzi's actions.[21] Two months later, in continuing to assert that his comments had been trivial, Materazzi refused to apologize to Zidane, but stated his desire for reconciliation. He also offered his version of events, claiming that after he had grabbed Zidane's jersey, Zidane offered it to him sarcastically, and that he replied to Zidane that he would prefer his sister.[22]

Materazzi later said in an interview with World Soccer Magazine that he had taunted Zidane about the Frenchman's sister, but did not know he had one.[citation needed] [edit] Reactions

After the final, President of France Jacques Chirac hailed Zidane as a national hero and called him a "man of heart and conviction".[23] Chirac later added that he found the offence to be unacceptable, but that he understood that Zidane had been provoked.[24] President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria expressed his solidarity with Zidane in a letter of support.[25] French newspaper Le Figaro called the headbutt "odious" and "unacceptable".[26] The editor-in-chief of French sports daily L'Équipe compared Zidane's greatness to Muhammad Ali's, but added that Ali, Jesse Owens and Pelé had never "broken the most elementary rules of sport" as Zidane had. He questioned how Zidane could explain the offence to "millions of children around the world", but apologized the following day.[27] A commentator for TIME magazine regarded the incident as a symbol for Europe's "grappling with multi-culturalism".[28] Zidane's sponsors announced that they would stick with him.[29] The incident was extensively lampooned on the Internet and in popular culture; "Coup de Boule", a novelty song written about the incident, reached the top of the French charts. FIFA investigation In light of Zidane's statements, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings to investigate the incident.[30] FIFA also affirmed the legality of Horacio Elizondo's decision to send Zidane off, rejecting claims that fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo had illegally relied on video transmission before informing Elizondo about Zidane's misconduct.[31] As a result of its investigation, FIFA issued a CHF5000 fine and a two-match ban against Materazzi, while Zidane received a three-match ban and a CHF7500 fine. According to FIFA, both players had stressed that Materazzi's comments had been defamatory, but not of a racist nature. Since Zidane was already retired at the time, he voluntarily served three days of community service on FIFA's behalf, as a substitute for the three-match ban.[32]

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