Quote:
MILAN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Italy defender Marco Materazzi has revealed the content of the verbal exchange he had with Zinedine Zidane which led to the headbutt from the Frenchman and his sending off in July's World Cup final.
Materazzi said it was mention of Zidane's sister which prompted the butt from the France midfielder which left Italy's opponents down to 10 men before their defeat on penalties.
...
"We both spoke and I wasn't the first. I held his shirt but don't you think it is a provocation to say that 'if you want my shirt I will give it you afterwards'?
"I replied to Zidane that I would prefer his sister, that is true. I brought up his sister and that wasn't a nice thing, that is true," said Materazzi.
Materazzi said it was mention of Zidane's sister which prompted the butt from the France midfielder which left Italy's opponents down to 10 men before their defeat on penalties.
...
"We both spoke and I wasn't the first. I held his shirt but don't you think it is a provocation to say that 'if you want my shirt I will give it you afterwards'?
"I replied to Zidane that I would prefer his sister, that is true. I brought up his sister and that wasn't a nice thing, that is true," said Materazzi.
Full story.
Assuming Materazzi is telling the whole story, I've got to say the whole incident has suddenly become very childish. Obviously that's a very puerile insult, and Zidane's overreaction was just as immature. On the other hand, I think they're both handling the aftermath pretty well. Zidane obviously can't really be punished by FIFA now that he's retired, so volunteering for community service on their behalf is admirable of him. Additionally, Materazzi is at least attempting to take the high road and bury the hatchet. Maybe that's just lip service to keep everyone happy.
Let's just hope Zidane never visits Massassi
![[http://intuitive-ds.com/personal/zidane.gif]](http://intuitive-ds.com/personal/zidane.gif "http://intuitive-ds.com/personal/zidane.gif")