Sport | Football
Zidane says sorry for headbutting incident
French football icon Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday said he was sorry for headbutting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final against Italy.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 July 12, 2006
Paris, Rome: French football icon Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday said he was sorry for headbutting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final against Italy.
But he said in a French television interview that defender Marco Materazzi had brought on the gesture by insulting him with some "very hard words."
"I want to ask for forgiveness from all the children who watched that. There was no excuse for it," he said.
"I want to be open and honest about it because it was seen by two or three billion people watching on television and millions and millions of children were watching.
Asked what exactly Materazzi had said, Zidane would only say that it was "very personal and concerned his mother and his sister."
Zidane was sent off for the head-butt to Materazzi's chest in the second period of extra-time in Sunday's final in Berlin.
Italy went on to win the World Cup on penalties after the match had finished tied at 1-1 after extra-time.
While Italians celebrated their fourth World Cup crown, France and the rest of the world wondered just what had made the 34-year-old skipper and footballing genius act in the violent way he did in what was the final game of his career.
Earlier in Rome, Fifa president Sepp Blatter hinted in an interview published yesterday that the action may cost Zidane his Golden Ball award.
World soccer's ruling body opened a disciplinary investigation on Tuesday into the circumstances surrounding the incident in Sunday's final.
"Fifa's executive committee has the right and duty to intervene when it sees behaviour that is contrary to sports ethics," he was quoted as saying in an interview in Rome's La Republica newspaper.
Asked if Zidane risked being stripped of the award for the World Cup's best player, Blatter said: "Before we make any decision, we have to await the outcome of the investigation."Being presumed innocent until proven otherwise is sacred principle."
But he added: "Seeing him behave this way really, really hurt me."
A French lawyer, meanwhile, plans to mount a legal challenge to the World Cup final result to establish whether the expulsion of Zidane was within the rules.
Lawyer Mehana Mouhou, however, said he intended to ask a Paris court to question the fourth official to ascertain whether he had illegally used videotape to check what had happened.
"If a judge determines that illegal methods were used, the proper consequences must be drawn," he said.
"That means that Zidane should never have been sent off and it would be impossible to predict what the match result would have been and it should be replayed."
Mouhou said he was acting on behalf of "several football clubs."
Sport Editor's choice
-
Winning Desert Classic close to McIlroy's heart
Joint-leader draws inspiration from girlfriend's personal pursuit of perfection
-
Top teams hold on to their positions
Of the strugglers, Emirates continue their climb up the table after some superb performances while Sharjah drop
-
Staking a claim
Mendip bounces back to his best form to win middle leg of Al Maktoum Challenge
