The Hindu : Sport / Football : FIFA to probe Zidane's conduct

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Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006

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FIFA to probe Zidane's conduct

Vaiju Naravane

PARIS: With speculation rife about what exactly provoked French captain Zinedine Zidane to head-butt Italy's Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute in the World Cup final, FIFA announced it would open an inquiry into the incident.

FIFA said the fourth official who witnessed the off-the-ball incident brought it to the attention of the referee and that a video of the exchange was not used in the decision to award Zidane a red card.

Zidane's agent Alain Migliaccio however said that his client had been "very seriously provoked" by insulting comments made by Materazzi. The agent said Zidane would, in due time, give his version of what happened.

Several newspapers have employed lip-reading experts to ascertain the facts of the case, but there have been conflicting reports so far. Fantastico, a programme on Brazil's Globo television, employed lip-reading experts who said footage of the incident showed the Italian twice insulted Zidane's sister.

Agencies add

Any disciplinary action against Zidane will be largely symbolic as he has already announced his retirement as a professional football player.

Referring to Zidane being voted the player of the tournament by journalists, FIFA said the ballot boxes remained open at the main media centre in Berlin until midnight on Sunday. The game was over by then.

"It is impossible to determine how many journalists cast their votes before the match and how many during it, as the ballot papers were not counted until after the deadline for voting had expired," officials added. — AP

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