Zidane Materazzi verdict a dangerous precedent?

Question

Opens up a whole can of worms.
So lets say in the next world cup, your team is winning its first game of the tournament. In the last moments of the game, you substitute an unlikely never to be used reserve player to go head butt a superstar on purpose. Your player claims he was provoked. You loose a reserve player, and the other team looses a superstar.
Sounds like a new stategy that will unfold in international soccer.
Pretty soon the players will complain because another player looked at him the wrong way!!!
I think the Fifa officials had their heads up their butts when they came up with this verdict!!!

Answer 1

If people take it in context and not imagine future scenario's as you have mentioned it shouldn't. Again it comes back to respect and ethics, for each other and the game. If everyone takes it in the sense that neither of these behaviours will be tolerated there should be no problem. If people want to take the decision and judgement and twist it all around to manipulate the game the way you have described, does not that show the low depths that some in the game are prepared to sink to win. There used to be pride in winning a hard fought clean match, now there is win at all cost and be proud no matter how you do it. As for your comment re players complaining of a look a player gives them, did not Matterazzi say he began his provocation as the result of a look he said Zidane gave him that he took to be offencive because he perceived the look to be one of superiority. The game is already sinking to ridiculous depths and becoming more about theatrical and other tactics than it is about just playing beautiful football. Well I may be idealistic but I'm all for cleaning up the crap in the game and if this decision by FIFA is a genuine effort to say hey no more crap, then so be it.

Answer 2

It is so funny to read comments like the one from "Sonie" who "...I applaud FIFA for doing the best they could with a very touchy situation..."
Soccer is a sport and like any other sports has its own rules and it has its own way of judgment process: "Sonie" is talking about this sport like if it is in a court of law (American).
WHAT FIFA has done is disgraceful and it is setting a VERY dangerous precedent: the punishment of who commits a violent act is very close to the one who provoked. That was never done before. If Materazzi did not answer FIFA’s investigators, there was no way for them to know what was said on the field.
Soccer fans for all over the world (England, Spain, Brasil, etc...) can easily recall so many other episodes where the player who reacted has been severely punished and no punishment was given to the provoker.
In Euro 2004, Totti was suspended for three games (never ejected from the field) because he spat on a Danish player (Poulsen).
That action was brought to the Official's attention by a Danish TV: how come there was no investigation on Poulsen? How come he was not suspended?
And if we really want to "applaud" FIFA (UEFA in this case), how come all the focus of the media was toward Totti's action, while Denmark and Sweden tied a game 2-2 (the only possible score needed to eliminate Italy - 1-1, 0-0, 3-3 or a winning from any of the two teams would have qualified Italy) and there was no investigation at all!!!

I am wondering what would have happened if the Zidane's headbutt happened in games other than the final: FIFA would have needed to decide in a very short time and there was no way that Materazzi would have punished, because none of the referees have heard what was said on the field. How come De Rossi was given 4 games suspension and Zidane only three? How come McBride wasn't investigated for possibly provoking De Rossi act? How come Mastroeni was suspended for three games? And how come Pirlo was not investigated for provoking the American player.
Seems to me that FIFA have not been partial and the Officials have been biased toward Zidane’s name and his Federation.

It is so clear that FIFA, once again, have shown a disgraceful political action and a ridiculous judgment has been imposed with arrogance and incompetence.

It is interesting to see how the whole soccer world has been shocked and surprised about the absurdity of the verdict.
Only "Sonie", FIFA Officials (Platini is part of them), few others and French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes think that it was an intelligent verdict!

Answer 3

I disagree with you. So many die hard old soccer/football fans talk of the sport as being a beautiful game but like all games as time goes on it seems that people find more and more ways of overlooking the rules and more garbage starts infiltrating play. At some point and time someone has to come in and put their foot down and I think that is what FIFA was trying to do. I think that is what Germany was trying to do when they made the message this year to stop the racism - AND I am not saying that I think that what Materazzi did was racist or not. I'm merely stating that as issues arise so arises the need to address them. I'm not sure what Materazzi said to Zidane but clearly it came under the lines of being contemptuous which is addressed in the rules. I applaud FIFA for doing the best they could with a very touchy situation.

Answer 4

The entire thing is messed up arleady. Materazzi agreed that he provoked Zidane and even Cannavaro said that Materazzi said some really nasty things. There were other wtinesses.

I think sending him off was stupid in the first place, because none of the officials actually saw what happened. They used the television to give him the red card. If they had just let the game play, and then look at the video AFTER and then deal with Zidane, all of this foolishness would never have happened.

In conclusion, either way, FIFA is stupid and corrupt!

Answer 5

You've got that right that Fifa has opened up a can of worms!!
Their going to have many investigations opening up from the past!
One that I can be sure of is the incident
Euro 2004: Totti was suspended for 3 games after a Danish TV brought the video to the officials. Totti was "crucified" by the media all over the world!!

Answer 6

sorry i didnt read the question
but i will answer this for the last time for every one who said zidane was wrong
ZIDANE WAS CALLED A TERRORIST ...A TERRORIST...
AND THAT MATERRAZI OR WHATEVER HIS NAME IS INSULTED HIS SISTER
if you were in the match
and some one calls you a terrorist
will you just stay there as if nothing happened????
nothing whatsoever is important than dignity
and zidane is not the kind of player who takes insultes easily
and this match proved to me that the italians are fakers and cheaters
and after all what happened ..after he was insulted....after he was called a terrorist...he APOLOGIZED for hitting materazzi
he apologized officially
and i believe materrazi didnt apologized officially..he just mentioned it in an interview and it wasnt a real sorry
materazzi deserved what he got
thats even the least thing zidane could have given materazzi for calling him a terorrist

now what do you think of zidane?
the most honest,beautiful honourble creature liviing on earth
do you agree with me?

Answer 7

i totally disagree. sledging is offensive and disgraceful in any context not just in sports. i know you guys think it's a totally macho thing to do but it's not, it's stupid so stop justifying it. and what dangerous precedent are you talking about? your scenario is totally off-tangent. materrazi was punished because he admitted the insult, he did it repeteadly out of pique, and the words he used were clearly defamatory, criminal behavior if you ask me and if i were zidane i'd sue his a**.

Answer 8

ok ... jus cuz u ppl lik zidane doesnt mean u can go ahead blamin fifa for dat....
materazzi was on de ground hurt.. and he was probably tellin the refs wat happend..... sooo obviously de refs hve to chek up on if hes reali tellin the truth...
dey cant just leave it... soo dats y dey replayed....
and a headbutt in this situation is a big thing in football u no

by the way... i got nothin against zidane... i like him...

Answer 9

materazzi was faking it. zidane's headbutt was not that strong. he should have hit him harder

Answer 10

this is it the end of the world as we know it.