Of all the reactions to the headbutt seen around the world this one is my favorite, it's from French President Jacques Chirac (who was in attendance at today's World Cup Final).
I don't know what happened, why [Zinedine Zidane] was punished...
Just so you know, Jacque, it's against the rules to walk up to another player and hit them square in the chest with your forehead with such force that it knocks them off their feet.
I'm anxious to hear the back story on the attack and why such a great player would end his fabulous career with such disrespect.
Now that Zidane is rid of the beautiful game I think he and Mike Tyson should form their own twelve-step program — muslim conversion optional.
Addendum — The BBC has said it best:
It was not meant to end like this for one of the game's legendary figures - sent from the world's biggest stage in shame and into retirement.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
All I know is that Marco Materazzi better have said something *really* terrible to him. And WTF was up with the French coach taking Henry out before the end of the match? I wouldn't take him out unless he was missing a leg.
It's funny that you mention both Ramman and Mike Tyson, because they are the two people who have come up in my conversations about this event.
There is something so primal about what he did, it makes my stomach churn. Like the last time something like this happened was before we (primates) had language, with the exception of the whole Mike Tyson ear thing.
Kottke has some video of some extremely nasty behavior by Materazzi - he's probably not the most upstanding character... probably got what he deserved. Then again, I really don't wish pain on anyone.
Hamza, the video you are referring to shows an angressive player going after the ball. Nowhere in that clip did I see Materazzi go up to a player and attack him so hard as to knock him to the ground while the ball was in play.
Previous bad acts are irrelevant — I'm sure Materazzi is a punk — but Zidane's headbutt has both brutal and incredibly stupid. I thought for a second the incompetent referees would miss it and that somehow he'd escaped the red card until it finally came out. Props for the linesman who really made the call. Justice is served by the Italian victory. Buono Forza Italia! Ciao!
Dave, there have been much more primal displays of humanity, even way worse than this in recent years... this is not rare.
Don't any of you remember the Todd Bertuzzi incident from last year? After Moore hit Naslund in a previous game, he went after him the entire game, and finally at the end of the game, he comes up behind, sucker punches him in the neck and drives his face into the ice. Moore went out cold with a concussion and was hospitalized with 3 broken vertebrae. Here's a video if you don't remember it.
It is sad to see something like this happen, especially on a world stage, but ultimately it was just a display of his personal character and nothing more. It doesn't mean anything for the sport. Who knows what Materazzi was saying to him, but no matter what it was, it's sad to see a legend go low in his final minutes and walk off the field in shame instead of a glorious goodbye. I'm sure he'll be regretting it in the morning.
As The Observer noted in 2004, Zidane has a history of almost inexplicable violence, including a suspension for a previous head butt. Sad to see a great player slink off the pitch so ignominiously, but he's got no one to blame but himself. If he was taking penalties with the rest of Les Bleus we could very likely be looking at another result. Let him sleep on that.
"Nowhere in that clip did I see Materazzi go up to a player and attack him so hard as to knock him to the ground while the ball was in play."
Ask and ye shall receive.
While I'm not playing down the force of the headbutt, it hardly knocked Materazzi off his feet -- don't forget that professional football players are also highly skilled in theatrics. However, Zidane definitely deserved to be sent off. Such a shame that a legend like him went out like that, but unfortunately he only has himself to blame.
Thanks Greg, I red on many sites people saying that Zidane's head-butt was "awesome" or "badass" or "amazing". I think that if one of us, like Materazzi or De Rossi, did the same thing to a French player, the same people would have asked our man to be sent in jail, or worse. After all Zidane isn't new to that kind of violent reactions.
Zidane new it before the referees had their decision that his act wasn't going to be treated lightly, and I respect the fact that he didn't show up for the medals or for the shootoffs. We have a tendency of thinking soccer players are from legend and lore, but they're human too. It would've been sportsman-like for Zidane to just brush away whatever Materazzi said to him, but I think he just had enough, and perhaps with good reason.
Still, they've voted him Best Player. That's recognizing that his talent is what is most remarkable about him- not his temper.
While I'm not playing down the force of the headbutt, it hardly knocked Materazzi off his feet...
Are you kidding? He didn't get hit, look around, and then collapse to his feet. It was two hits: headbutt, ground. Unless it was coordinated ahead of time I have a hard time believing any shin grabbing theatrics where in being played out.
The fact that Chirac made this comment might be attributed to the fact that most of the attending audience didn't see it (the headbutt) happen. They were watching the ball. Most probably only saw it later on television.
Stephen,
You are correct.
A reporter on the BBC just said that Chirac had not seen what happened. He was told what happened by a reporter immediately after he made his statement.
What's French for Asshat?
That would be "Chappeau d'âne."
I've read everything from a "nipple pinch" to "racist remarks" led to the "sinister head butt". I've seen a Youtube montage of "evil deeds" by said headbutt receiver. Doesn't matter. This is World. Cup. Final. Match. Under no circumstances can you do something like that. Idiot. I don't care how beloved he is to the French, you HAVE to be a moron to do something like that. And don't claim frustration. It was 1-1 and anybody's game.
Looked like it hurt, though...in a Three Stooges kind of way.
Merci.
That was an all around terrible ending to a great World Cup. Italy didn't deserve to win it. I don't think they even deserved to be IN the final. The Cup was better represented by teams like Germany, Ghana and, even, Trinidad and Tobago. I honestly thought France had a great rise, but Zidane let everybody down by not keeping his cool.
It's unfair to judge his entire career based on one hot-headed moment - he' still the best player of the last 20 years. I doubt Zidane cares very much what we think of him anyway.
Zidane was a crucial part to France's outcome of the match and he let his emotions get the best of him. For that, he deserves to carry on his back that he may have single-handedly cost France the cup. What a disgraceful finish to an otherwise glorious career.
It's not Ramman. It's Rodman. As in Dennis.
As a not close observer of the World Cub but avid fan of the NBA, that was the first thing I thought when watching. Maybe for Americans to start watching in mass we need guys with died red hair to start head butting guys.
Zidane has won the Golden Ball award.
Rodman makes a great cross-dresser while Zidane did a great impersonation of Ramman. He-Man would be proud.
Rodman did give a phtographer a kick in the groin a while back. If there isn't a hall of fame for these kinds of incidents, there should be.
Joshua, there has always been violence in sports, but I think you really have to dig a bit deeper to determine that headbutting a person in the chest or biting someone's ear off is the proper course of action.
Wesley Willis, somewhere is smiling!
While extremely disappointed in Zidane's actions, I must respectfully argue that those clips of Materazzi do not show a player just being "aggressive." Anyone who has played soccer knows that you are never allowed to go into a tackle "cleats up", nor are you allowed to raise your foot in the area of another player's head. These rules are stricly enforced at all levels and Materazzi was violating one or the other of those rules in all those clips. The elbow incident was on a whole other level.
When he came on to replace the injured Nesta a few games ago, Italians everywhere were worried about his reputation as "a walking red card."
OK, lets put things in perspective: Materazzi can be a chippy and aggressive punk of a player as his past antics can testify to this. But in this WC series he was more of a positive football force and was never in danger of missing a game due to yellow cards. He scored the tying goal. Zizou while a great and gifted player had a major run-in with the coach during the group games and when he was pulled out of one game I thought he was going to headbutt the couch. Also Zizou has been thrown out (red-carded) in other major games, once in the 1998 world cup and missed two games, and another time when he played for Juventus and he was thrown out for a violent incident (headbutt?) during a Champions playoff, and probably cost Juventus the title. So this is a pattern for Zizou.... he has a very short fuse. Materazzi may have played up to this. As to play-acting on Materazzi's part: a doctor who was watching the game with me and didn't care which side won, told me that a violent headbuut liek to the solar plex can kill a man!! Playacting... whoever said that is drinking the same koolaid as the french coach. And as far as Brandon's comments: "Italy didn't deserve to win it. I don't think they even deserved to be IN the final. "... all I can say is that in the most gentle of terms, you don't understand the game, and may not have watched most of the matches. No one scored on Italy. Period. full stop. One own-goal and one penalty kick. They scored against all their opponents! Think again about your statement: "I don't think they even deserved to be IN the final"... and if you can't see the absurdity then you are also on the funny cool-aid. Ciao. (ps the best team won))
Found this article on Slate that attempts to put the incident in perspective.
http://www.slate.com/id/2145406/?nav=tap3
... and for some background on this year's Golden Ball Award Winner
I understand the game just fine. Just don't care much for divers and cheaters. There were better teams who played better games.
According to a lip reader, this is what Materazzi said to Zidane. I still don't know why you're defending the guy Greg.
"Hold on, wait, that one's not for a nigger like you.
We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore.
So just f*ck off."
Both of them got what they deserved.
According to a lip reader? I think I'll wait until the psychic and the voodoo witch doctor verify that claim before I start making t-shirts.
Even so, I don't care what Materazzi said, that's textbook in-game trash-talk. You don't think Zidane wasn't throwing around his own insults? What do you think happens during NFL, NBA, NHL, NBA, the Olympics or the World Figure Skate Championships? Let me assure you, athletes aren't always complimenting each other on the physical appearance during competition.
Trash-talk is a mind game used by both teams to distract the other and nothing more. Do you really think Materazzi things Zidane is the son of a terrorist whore? Puh-lease. I'm amazed at how naive some people have been that oh-my-gosh, Zidane was verbally insulted during a match. Or even worse, some are calling the Frenchmen a hero because he defended his race and/or religion. If that's what they really believe then they must equally admire President Bush or Osama Bin Laden.
Zidane chose to turn his response into physical assault, he caved and let the words get to him. And I don't care what a Materazzi, or a Allen Iverson, or a Kim Jong Il, or a Peter S. says, once you have resorted to physical violence you've lost the upper ground and given into exactly what your opponent was hoping for.
Zidane is a better player than Materazzi hands down but he let the oldest tactic in the book get to him and that may have very well cost France the World Cup.
Zidane may have lost his head, but Materazzi sure found it...
I thought the headbutt was kind of cool and winning the World Cup isn't the most important thing in the world... making public headbutting more socially acceptable is a worthy goal, I mean goooooaaaaaallllll!!!!!
@Greg: Amen! Well said! @Bandon: "don't care for cheaters" ...neither do I nor anyone reading these posts. I have read on a daily basis at least 5-6 newspapers throughout the WC (BBC, Guardian, Globe&Mail, Gazzetta dello Sport, etc) and i don't recall one sentence that accused the Italian team of being CHEATERS. You'll have to enlighten us on that one. As for diving / simulation. Name me one team that didn't use that tactic. What about the dive that France took that resulted in the first goal in the final? Every slow motion replay shows that Malouda wasn't touched, but that he Malouda took a dive. He "sold" the penalty and it worked. Many teams took this tactic, including Italy in that controversial penalty against Australia. C'est la vie! Ciao!
I may joke, and what Zidane did was wrong, but understandable. His mother was admitted into the hospital early in the week and then some dude calls his mother a terrorist whore after dropping the N-bomb... I'd probably lose it too and drop him.
I think when Zidane speaks he'll admit to what he did as being stupid even though it was provoked.
I think there are things outside the realm of trash-talking. Two of those would be ethnic slurs and ripping on sick or dying family members.
This does not justify Zidane's actions (albeit pretty cool to be able to drop the big dude in one shot), but it does explain it.
my oh my what twisted logic is spining round this thread. Nothing can excuse Zidane's actions. Period. And for now no one knows what words were exchanged by BOTH parties. Zidane trash talked and so did Materazzi. But we may never know what was said...so please keep that in mind and stop feeding into the news hype: this link provides some good perspective: http://www.kottke.org/06/07/the-zidane-headbutt .
And keep this in mind as well: Zidane is not an innocent, however brialliant he was as a player: read the part
YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN VINNIE...
Zinédine Zidane has been sent off 14 times in his career, two more than Vinnie Jones. A deeply flawed football genius to be sure. ..
I don´t know it too. But he get his regard anyway, the golden ball award is also a good reference for him. But Zidane want´s to abandon his career. I think it was a part of a huge conspiracy against the french football team. By the way: a very interesting issue to discuss about. Greetings @ all.
Greg,
You may not appreciate the seriousness of the remarks made, but luckily FIFA does. Racism has no place on the field, or off. This goes beyond 'textbook trash-talk'.
"Fifa will open a disciplinary investigation into Zidane's conduct to enable it to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident as exactly as possible," read a statement from the governing body.
If the Internazionale centre back is found guilty of making any racist remarks to Zidane, he can expect to be banned by the authorities."
Time to move on. But before we leave this thread I found this story that ...Peace...Ciao
I can't believe you all think he actually was knocked from his feet, by that little tap. He took a dive, no it wasn't as obvious of half the other theatrics (clutching face when you were clearly hit in the arm...) of the World Acting cup, but he certainly threw himself on the ground. Who cares anyway, it's an over rated sport...
This is an ugly post, especially the muslim dig.
ah k... so one might assume that Zidane wanted to drop M to the ground -- and that's alright. i call asshat on everyone telling him what he should do.