'Sick taunt' riled Zidane
2006-07-11 09:49
Berlin - An Italian lip-reader has claimed to have deciphered the words Italy defender Marco Materazzi said to Zinedine Zidane that provoked the French captain into head-butting him in the chest during the World Cup final in Berlin.
According to the BBC, Materazzi said, "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family," and then told Zidane to "go fuck yourself".
The lip-reader went on to say that Materazzi spoke to Zidane in Italian.
Materazzi apparently told Zidane - who understands the language after his playing days in Serie A with Juventus - that a high ball (meant for a defender) was "not for feccia like you".
'Feccia' is an Italian insult meaning scum or shit.
However, a report in The Sun newspaper on Tuesday claimed that in fact Zidane's actions were as a result of a vile slur on his sick mother, Malika.
The Sun reported that Materazzi called Zidane a "son of a terrorist whore" before the French Algerian was sent off.
Materazzi was quick to deny calling Zidane a terrorist, saying: "I'm ignorant. I don't know what the word means."
An unnamed French Football Federation source appeared to justify Zidane's actions by adding: "If you insult Zidane's mother you are asking for trouble. Combine such words with a reference to terrorism, which French Algerians are very sensitive about, and a violent reaction might appear inevitable."
Alex Hayes, a correspondent for French sports newspaper L'Equipe, said: "On the day, with his mother being ill, it wasn't a clever thing, or the right thing to say."
Hayes added however that Zidane's final act before his sending-off which ended his career in international football, stemmed from an earlier incident in the match where Materazzi tweaked his nipple.
Although video evidence was used to judge Materazzi, it was not used by match officials to condemn Zidane.
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that Italy coach Marcello Lippi had claimed that Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo had received help from an official on the sidelines which was "a flagrant breach of Fifa's rules" before sending Zidane off.
However, world governing body Fifa were quick to release a statement insisting that "the fourth referee saw the incident with his own eyes and told the referee and the assistant directly through their headsets".
Despite his red-card shame, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball award as the World Cup's best player.
Zidane earned 2 012 points in a poll of journalists covering the event, with Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro second on 1 977 points and Andrea Pirlo third with 715.
As France greeted its beaten World Cup team with tears and cheers, French President Jacques Chirac paid tribute to the disgraced French captain.
Sapa reported that a sheepish-looking Zidane bowed before the flag-waving crowds as the French players greeted their supporters.
"You are a virtuoso, a genius of world football. You are also a man of the heart, of commitment, of conviction, and that's why France admires and loves you," Chirac said.
News24