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 ?a 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.
"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 ?a 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 via China Daily July 13, 2006)