Friday, July 21, 2006

Zidane and Materazzi banned and fined

Well, if anyone is still following the famous Zidane vs Materazzi headbutt incident, here's the verdict by the Fifa's disciplinary committee.

Both players recieved a fine and a suspension. Zidane with a fine of 7500 swiss francs and Materazzi 5000. Zidane was handed a 3 match ban but since he's no longer playing, he offered to perform 3 hrs of community service which the committee accepted. Materazzi, who was punished for repeatedly provoking Zidane,
was given a 2 match ban, in which he will miss the qualifiers in the Euro 2008 againist France (coincidence?). In the hearing, it was agreed that Materazzi's comments was insulting in nature, but not racist.

It was a fair solution and Zidane can now end his career on a brighter note then what we saw 11 days ago in the world cup finals.

Read more: Here.




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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fair for who?
How is this a bright note for Zidane? He gets no glory out of this.

JH said...

No, he certainly gets no glory out of this verdict. But at least it justified, to a certain extend, his actions during the final in responds to Materazzi's insulting remarks. Will you not defend your own dignity under such circumstances? Yes possibly not the most appropriate way to handle it, but anyone would have lost his head under such persistent provocation.

Undoubtedly, the incident left a stain in his legacy, yet, I would say the truth ultimately puts him in a better light than the impression what most people got away with during the incident itself.

As for whether it’s a fair verdict for Materazzi depends on which side you are on. Obviously, I’m on Zizou’s side.