Berlin - Italy's coach Marcello Lippi has insisted Marco Materazzi said nothing to provoke Zinédine Zidane into the head-butt that led to the France captain's late dismissal in the World Cup final.
Zidane, who put France ahead with a penalty kick in the opening minutes, was given a red card after slamming his head into Materazzi's chest during the tense second period of extra-time.
It was his last act as a professional player and one that was widely criticised in France and abroad.
The Guardian reported on Monday that Lippi claimed the referee Horacio Elizondo had received help from an official on the sidelines for "a flagrant breach of Fifa's rules" before sending Zidane off.
"You will realise it was not Materazzi who got the attention of the referee," said Lippi. "It was the fourth and fifth officials looking at the video at the edge of the pitch. We did not do anything. They saw it and they called the attention of the referee."
Lippi refused to elaborate on what - if anything - Materazzi had muttered under his breath but he did add cryptically: "Tomorrow the French people will know the truth about Zidane. Materazzi was not acting. He took a blow and he was hurt."
The Guardian says there was no suggestion it was due to a racist comment. For all his tattoos and hardman image on the pitch, Materazzi is regarded as tolerant and easy-going off it. His best friend at Inter Milan is the Nigeria international Obafemi Martins.
Sapa reports on Monday confirmed that Zidane won the Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player. Zidane polled 2 012 points in the vote by journalists covering the tournament, beating Italians Fabio Cannavaro (1 977 points) and Andrea Pirlo (715 points) in the ballot.
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