Zidane’s sorry may not be enough

MILAN/PARIS: Zinedine Zidane said on Wednesday that he was sorry for head-butting Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final on Sunday. But he told a French TV channel that Materazzi provoked the attack by insulting him with some “very hard words”.

“I want to ask for forgiveness from all the children who watched that. There was no excuse for it,” he said.

“I want to be open and honest about it because it was seen by two or three billion people watching on television and millions and millions of children were watching.”

About Materazzi’s sledging, Zidane would only say it was “very personal and concerned my mother and sister”.

But FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday that Zidane may be stripped of his Golden Ball award. “The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA but by an international commission of journalists,” Blatter said. “That said, FIFA’s executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene when faced with behaviour contrary to the ethic of the sport.”

FIFA’s disciplinary committee opened an inquiry on Tuesday into the Frenchman’s action. A decision on the Golden Ball will be taken afterwards.

Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball on Monday, but the ballot box was open until after the end of the final, making it unclear how many votes were cast before or after the incident.

Blatter said Zidane’s head-butt had shocked him personally. “I’ve known Zidane for several years. To see him acting like that leaves me vexed. That is why I gave investigation order.”