Update on Head Butt-Gate The blogger for Guardian Unlimited writes the following about what set Zidane off. The frat boy nipple tweak.
115 mins Replays show that Materazzi's crime was to, erm, tweak Zidane's nipple. I kid you not. Tyldesley, the Zidane lover, is now launching into the darker spots of Materazzi's CV, but he's a fool: Zidane is slap bang out of order, kinky nipple tweak or no nipple tweak.
I disagree. Both Materazzi and Zidane should have been sent off. I'd knock the fucker out too if he pinched my ol' nips. Some on the blogosphere are arguing that Zidane's action against Materazzi was an egregious over-reaction. It may be, but I have so much less respect for players who commit sneaky fouls. If you're going to foul, foul, but don't try to tweak nips. Maybe soccer should adopt a few more rules from hockey such as the penalty box that would give teams a man or more advantage for five or ten minutes as well as letting the players fight it out until one of the fighter's knees hit the ground. I'm kidding about the last point, but I think the penalty box is a workable idea that could address some of international soccer's problems.
There is also an unsubstantiated rumor also going around that Zidane was called a terrorist or something similiary offensive by Materazzi.
But back to the nipple tweaking and some evidence via the requisite youtube links to the offense. Look closely at the very beginning of the clips at Materazzi's hands.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1i_l0OeeMc]
And here's a better angle:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBV52GPhNjw]
And just for kicks, I'll say it again one last time: NIPPLE TWEAK.
Wow. Except for French and Italian fans (who I presume are more concerned with the final outcome of the game), the true stunner of the game was that head butt to the chest that Zidane dropped on that Italian player (see photo and gif below). It was quite magnificant, except that sort of action is quite frowned upon in soccer. That said, I won't judge Zidane until the full scope of what happened is revealed.
(If image does not play, click here to view)
The replays show Zidane and the Italian talking before Zidane jogs forward a bit before turning around and dropping that vicious header on the Italian player. My conjecture is that the Italian might have said something racially offensive, if which that is the case, more power to Zidane. That said, the guy could have just said something about how fat Zidane's mama is. And if that's what happened, then good riddance to Zidane.
The Italians dominated the first half (penaly kick scored by Zidane notwithstanding), while the French owned the second and most of the overtimes. All in all, it was quite an entertaining game. It is just too bad that Zidane and the other player had to tarnish this final with their behavior.