quote: PARIS, July 13 (Reuters) - A French lawyer plans to ask a court to intervene in the controversy over Zinedine Zidane's sending-off in the World Cup final.
Doubts over whether a match official relied on video evidence of Zidane's head butt to Italian defender Marco Materazzi meant the final should be replayed, lawyer Mehana Mouhou said.
"I am going to ask the judge to question all individuals concerned and to reconstruct the end of the refereeing," Mouhou, who is based in the northern town of Rennes, told Reuters on Thursday.
"If it is proved that the fourth referee used video evidence, FIFA can have the final replayed," he said.
I don't know how many people followed this year's World Cup, but I was a huge fan of it -- and, increasingly so, of Zinedine Zidane, the French captain, and one of the classiest, most talented soccer players I've ever seen. He played clean throughout the World Cup, and kept his team from performing too many dives (though there's still too many for my taste) -- and to my knowledge, he's never performed one himself.
Italy was beating on him throughout the game -- in one particularly vicious shot, he got a knee in his back, which I think might have dislocated his shoulder.
Materazzi, an Italian player, grabbed hold of Zidane near the end of the match, in the last ten minutes of double overtime. With his arm across Zidane's chest, he tweaked Zidane's nipple and whispered racial slurs (Zidane's French Algerian, persecuted in Europe) and insults about his mother and sister into his ear -- Zidane tried to walk away, the guy shouted out that his mother was a terrorist whore, then finally Zidane turned as the guy followed him and headbutted him in the chest. (Lest you feel sorry for the scumbag, here's something to give you an idea of the kind of player he is.)
And, good lord, bravo. Zidane cared more about defending his mother and sister's honor than about the World Cup or even his retirement ceremonies, and he sacrificed both trophy and reputation for that honor. I respect this guy more than I thought possible.
Italy was, of course, as classless with the World Cup as they were on the field -- gah, the only team as bad with the diving and whining and fouling I saw was Portugal (I'm perfectly content to watch Ronaldo die in a fire). The only thing they didn't do with the World Cup once they had their hands on it was rub it on their crotches. I'd love it if France could win back what they deserve.
Zidane shouldn't have been thrown out, technically. None of the refs saw the headbutt, and had to go back through video footage to catch it -- technically, that means it didn't happen. I don't particularly agree with those rules, but if Fifa's going to make them, at least live by them.
I doubt it'll happen, but I can hope.
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Is headbutting an opponent in a televised game with most of the world watching really the best way to defend your mother's honor against a comment that no one could hear?
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So has it been confirmed thats what Materazzi said? I wasn't sure.
Even then, Zidanes actions were classless as well, in my opinion. Why is the best way to defend someones honor striking down the person laying out the insults? My own experience I was taught to be above violence, and that by being a decent human being and ignoring the ignorance of others made me exactly what would honor any mother. Which doesn't indicate I'm perfect at that.
Which isn't a defence for Materazzi, either. Again, I have no idea what was said.
That said, it won't happen. When a ref says "this is what I saw" the debate ends, and any more pushing of it is disrespectful of the game. Are there bad refs out there? Yes. Are there refs who would lie? Certainly. But by saying "I want a judge to question them" after the fact that it has been called opens up a can of worms for the future of any bad calls.
All you have to do is say "Did you see this" and have a yes or no answer, and they did that on the field during the game.
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quote: Zidane shouldn't have been thrown out, technically.
TECHNICALLY speaking, no, he shouldn't have been red carded. But by that same token you're saying it's ok to release guilty criminals whose cases were thrown out because of a technical snafu.
I completely understand why he did what he did, but regardless of what was said to provoke him, he did not display maturity or good sportsmanship by reacting in that manner.
I think it's ridiculous to say that the whole game should be replayed because of that one incident - and one that occurred in overtime, at that. Had he been allowed to remain in the game, do you really think it would have made that much of a difference? France still could have messed up on the penalty kicks, and Italy still would have (rightfully) won.
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It seems to me that having the teams replay the final game would discredit the World Cup - and the game itself - far more than this controversy ever could. Undermining the authority of the referees onfield would only serve to increase the amount of "diving, whining, and fouling." In fact, I fail to see how this court challenge is substancially different from the gamesmanship onfield that so many people complain about.
In certain situations in the course of a match, a ref can ignore a foul and motion for the teams to play on. That's what should happen here.
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I'm aware of that, but regardless of how well he kicks, it's not like the guy who bounced it off the goal was terrible. He just messed up, and it could have happened to anyone, and Zidane's presence wouldn't have changed that.
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He's a professional athlete and he should have known better. If what Materazzi said was so terrible he should have waited until the end of the game and then punched him in the face. Or, better yet, waited and then reported it. Remember in the NHL when Carter went to league to complain that Avery called him a "monkey" on the ice? Same idea.
The debate that it *should* be sparking, however, is that of instant replay in soccer. Because, in essence, that's what this was, the ref's calling something the camera saw and they missed. Perhaps it's time that instant replays be implemented. Even if it's something like "any questionable goals and all penalties called in the box". Hopefully the latter will cut down on the appalling amount of diving in the game. Heck, throw in a replay on all red cards as well, you'll probably catch a number of dives there as well.
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I'd *love* to see instant replays, as long as they didn't slow down the speed of the game.
As far as Zidane goes... trash talk is always a part of sports, particularly at the professional level in high-stakes games. *shrug* That's the way manly men behave, I guess. As a professional player, Zidane ought to know that it comes with the game, and he needs to not respond to it for the good of his team and country.
This doesn't excuse what the Italian player said at all - but two wrongs don't make a right and all that jazz.
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