© EuroFootball.com
The participants of probably the most famous incident of the year in sports - former French national team captain Zinedine Zidane, who received a three-match suspension and a 7500 Swiss francs fine for headbutting during the World Cup final, and a two-match suspension and 5000 francs fine for provoking Italian defender Marco Materazzi.
34-year-old Z. Zidane shocked the world in his final career match by headbutting the 32-year-old M. Materazzi during extra time, and although the Frenchman later apologized for his behavior, he justified his actions by claiming that the Italian insulted his family.
Last week, the footballers gave testimonies to the FIFA disciplinary committee, which decided to punish the players with suspensions and fines. However, since Z. Zidane retired after the tournament, he offered to serve his punishment by working for three days in FIFA events.
Both players noted that Materazzi's comments were insulting, but not racist. Zinedine Zidane agreed to do community work with children and youth. In a survey, both players apologized to FIFA for their inappropriate behavior and expressed regret about the incident," - FIFA statement.
Despite the incident, Z. Zidane was named the best player of the tournament and won the Golden Ball. It was rumored that his prize could be revoked, but FIFA stated that they did not even consider such a possibility and allowed the retired player to keep the trophies.
M. Materazzi will have to miss the first two matches of the Italian national team in the European Championship qualifiers against Lithuania and France due to his disqualification. Former Italian national team and current AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini called FIFA's decision scandalous:
"To disqualify a player for something said is scandalous. This is the first such case and it was done only because Materazzi is Italian, as well as to justify Zidane's behavior, not the one who was guilty."
French Football Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes, in turn, was satisfied with the decision: "This is a smart, accurate, and well-founded decision. It shows understanding of the world of football. The provocateur of the incident was punished. This is a penalty that punishes the one who, in my opinion, was responsible. Zidane is not guilty. He must control himself, but guilty is the one who provokes, the one who decides to knock a player out of the competition with unsporting actions."
