La tour de la question: Pourquoi, Zizou, pourquoi?!
(Bloody hell - A sports-related post on my blog. I really must be stuck for something to write about..)
La Marseillaise, indeed . . . (Or should that be “Le Marseillais”?)
So Zidane lost the plot with about 10 minutes to go, in the final of the World Cup 2006, the last game of his career, for which he came out of retirement to play.
It’s sad, in a way; but his actions were indefensible.
The question some people are asking, though, is what could Marco Materazzi possibly have said to Zinedine Zidane to provoke such a violent reaction?
Some speculation (seemingly in l’Equipe magazine) suggests that Italy’s Materazzi called Zidane (of Algerian parents) a “terrorist”. Personally, I had a feeling that it may have been a racial slur that was said. It has not emerged, however, exactly just what words were exchanged.
If it is the case that such remarks were made by Materazzi, it would be appalling. In the Berlin stadium, where Jesse Owens famously demonstrated his athletic superiority in front of Adolf Hitler in 1936, to have racist remarks being thrown about.
Soccer is and has been plagued by racism, homophobia, violence and hooliganism for some time. In the UK last year, a high-profile ante-racism campaign took place, involving many well-known FA club players. In Spain, serious concerns have been raised over racist chants from spectators. In Italy, Lazio’s Paolo DiCanio received a suspension after giving a Nazi salute in December of last year.
I could go on.
Zidane’s behaviour was intolerable. Materazzi, however, was part of the incident. If racial insults were directed towards Zidane, Materazzi should be stripped of his World Cup medal (or whatever it is individual players receive).
But what did provoke Zizou? PaddyPower are taking bets: www.paddypower.com
Zinedine Zidane - www.zidane.fr
