On 9th July 2006, the Italian national team won the World Cup after beating France in a shootout, 5-3. The two drew 1-1 after 120 minutes. Zinedine Zidane’s quick penalty in the 7th minute put Les Blues ahead. However, about 12 minutes later, Italian defender Marco Materazzi equalized. It’s just that this match is also remembered by the incident involving the two goalscorers. Goals from both as if they were destined to be in the spotlight to be remembered. Unfortunately, they are remembered for an unfortunate incident.
Zidane was sent off after heading Materazzi in the middle of the extra time match because it was alleged he was provoked with inappropriate words by the Italian player. It was the closing of his career that he did not want to be remembered for the rest of his life. The drama between the two began in the second half of extra time, when Zidane, who was walking with Materazzi, stopped in front of him and suddenly butted his chest.
The field referee did not see the incident and he only got information from his fourth assistant. After that, Horacio Elizondo without hesitation gave a red card. It was the fifth red card of his career and with Rigobert Song he was sent off in two different World Cup tournaments (previously at the 1998 World Cup).
Two years later, Zidane revealed that he was provoked by inappropriate words that allegedly offended his mother. He also admitted that he was insulted by being called a ‘son of a terrorist whore’. However, he also regretted having overreacted with those words although he wouldn’t regret his header against Materazzi. “I reacted badly and want to apologize because a lot of kids were watching the game. Even so, I will not regret my header to Materazzi because if I regret it, then I will confirm what he said.
“Actually, there was no problem between me and him before that game. It all started when he grabbed my shirt and I asked him to stop it. Then I said if he wanted my shirt I would give it after the game. Then, what happened next was he insulted me with inappropriate words that offended my mother and sister. I tried to ignore it but then I went over to him and it all happened so fast,” Zidane said.
Materazzi had denied the accusations although he admitted he had spoken harsh words to him. He also emphasized that he had never called Zidane a terrorist and insulted his mother as reported. “It is an insult that has already spread. I never called him a terrorist. I am not an uncultured person and did not mention anything political, racial and religious to him. I also never insulted his mother. I lost my mother when I was 15 years old and I still get emotional when I talk about it,” Materazzi said as quoted by ESPN FC.
Furthermore, according to Materazzi, Zidane was provocative when he grabbed his shirt which made him say such words although he also regretted insulting his brother. “I just grabbed his shirt and he responded, ‘Later after the game’. Isn’t that a provocation? It’s true that I responded by offending her sister and that’s a bad thing. I also didn’t know he had a sister before.”
About a year after the incident, Materazzi revealed the true words that were said to Zidane, “I prefer that whore is your sister,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian. Until now, it is not known whether the two have forgiven each other after the match. At that time, Materazzi said he was ready to forgive Zidane if he apologized directly.
“If he hasn’t apologized, then I don’t need to apologize either. However, if necessary I would like to apologize to her sister even though I didn’t know she had a sister before. An undisclosed attempt at peace between two men? Of course, I can. I will always be open to accepting him here to make peace if I want to,” Materazzi said.
The incident between Materazzi and Zidane proves that the slightest provocation can lead to an unexpected reaction. Provocation in a match is a common thing to distract the opponent, but what must be remembered, we must not offend the person who was provoked.
ASL
