# Zidane head butt thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945 "2006-07-10T23:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/21 "2006-07-11T12:11:23Z")
Even those of us who know so little about football recognize this as an infraction beyond the pale, an act which has no legitimate place. I’d rank it right up there with insulting an opposing player’s sick mother as far as inexcusable actions. It will be interesting to see if exactly what Materazzi said comes to public light. I will say this though; if a sport ever comes about where players compete to out headbutt each other, my first pick will be Zidane. If players compete without the use of hands, instead slapping each other with upper torsos and craniums like a couple of love-struck seals then Zidane’s my captain. Legitimacy aside, the man can toss a wicked noggin. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/22 "2006-07-11T12:51:15Z")
SF Chronicle sports columnist CW Nevius wrote an article about the head butt yesterday. I was intrigued to see the comments to the article…they largely add up to “You stupid American! You know nothing about football! The Italians are all racist assholes and Zidane should have hit him harder!” [link.](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=18&entry_id=6916) Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/23 "2006-07-11T13:07:29Z")
Other stories have Materazzi denying he called Zidane a “dirty terrorist”. My personal favorite on-field blowup was in the Kansas City Chiefs - Denver Broncos football game in 1998 when KC linebacker Derrick Taylor got called for personal fouls on Denver’s Shannon Sharpe on 3 consecutive plays, and was then ejected. It emerged later that Taylor was dating Sharpe’s ex-girlfriend, and Sharpe kept telling him “Every time you kiss her, you’re tasting my \_\_\_”. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/24 "2006-07-11T14:16:40Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] I will say this though; if a sport ever comes about where players compete to out headbutt each other, my first pick will be Zidane. [/QUOTE] I was wondering a bit about this. Did Materazzi throw a flop when this happened or does Zidane give the burliest headbutt of all time? I’ve never seen anyone dropped by a headbutt before. ---
**Author:** ![scott62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@scott62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott62)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/25 "2006-07-11T14:51:16Z")
I would say that insults are part of the game. Materazzi got what he wanted, Zidane sent off. You don’t see cricketers being sent off and they throw some wicked comments at each other. Nothing that Materazzi could say should have provoked Zidane into his headbutt to the chest, he should have risen above it and let his feet and the ball do the talking. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/26 "2006-07-11T15:15:46Z")
You have to know that Zidane was verbally giving it just as good as he was getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/27 "2006-07-11T15:48:58Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] I was wondering a bit about this. Did Materazzi throw a flop when this happened or does Zidane give the burliest headbutt of all time? I’ve never seen anyone dropped by a headbutt before. [/QUOTE] Let’s ask the experts! 😛 > **[Comment, opinion and discussion from the Guardian US | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us/commentisfree)** > > Latest opinion, analysis and discussion from the Guardian. CP Scott: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred" - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/28 "2006-07-11T16:04:57Z")
That’s a pretty amusing article (even if I don’t know who all of the references are about…who the hell is Jimmy Nail?) but it’s nice to see that at least it was indeed a quality head butting. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/29 "2006-07-11T16:22:01Z")
“You’re the son of a terrorist whore”, according to the lip reader. [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2006310771,00.html](http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2006310771,00.html) > [@](#): > > Top lip-reader Marianne Frere revealed the Italian told Zidane — who understands the language after playing for Juventus — a high ball was “not for feccia like you”. > > Feccia is an Italian insult meaning scum or s\*\*t. > > Zidane smiled at Materazzi as he walked away. But there was another exchange, Zidane turned and floored him with a butt to the chest. The lip-reader claimed the Italian had said: “We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore.” > [@](#): > > Materazzi yesterday denied calling Zidane a terrorist. He said: “It is absolutely not true. I’m ignorant. I don’t know what the word means.” What a fucking asshat. While watching the game, I was emmensely disappointed to see Zidane do that and get sent off. However, if the above is true, I completely reverse my feelings. In perfect hindsight, it’s clear that getting sent off didn’t change the outcome of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/30 "2006-07-11T16:22:28Z")
[QUOTE=scott62] I would say that insults are part of the game. [/QUOTE] Any game, for that matter. Unless he backed it up with a Polaroid of his family tied up in a basement somewhere, reacting like that to some shit-talking, at that moment, in the absolute foremost pinnacle of the sport, no matter how horrendous the words, is fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/31 "2006-07-11T16:23:39Z")
Materazzi – the fucking best denial he can come up with is “I don’t know what the word means”? Douchebag. Fuck him. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/32 "2006-07-11T16:24:25Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] Furthermore, if losing _one_ player is enough to bury the team, as far as I’m concerned, it isn’t worthy of the championship. [/QUOTE] IMHO, this argument falls apart when the game is decided by one-on-one penalty kicks. Otherwise, I’d agree much in the way it _isn’t_ Buckner’s fault, nor Bartman’s. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/33 "2006-07-11T16:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] IMHO, this argument falls apart when the game is decided by one-on-one penalty kicks. Otherwise, I’d agree much in the way it _isn’t_ Buckner’s fault, nor Bartman’s. [/QUOTE] True, but since we have the benefit of perfect hindsight it wouldn’t have made a difference. Presumably Zidane would have made his kick, but Trezugeut would still have shot. \*\*Neither goalie stopped even a single kick. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/34 "2006-07-11T16:48:28Z")
I thought it was great. I’ll take a genuine display of passion and anger over the standard parade of vaudeville tumbles and pantomime agony. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/35 "2006-07-11T17:20:45Z")
[QUOTE=Jayrot] “You’re the son of a terrorist whore”, according to the lip reader. [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2006310771,00.html](http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/1,,2006310771,00.html) What a fucking asshat. While watching the game, I was emmensely disappointed to see Zidane do that and get sent off. However, if the above is true, I completely reverse my feelings. In perfect hindsight, it’s clear that getting sent off didn’t change the outcome of the game. [/QUOTE] I don’t care what was said, it’s just freaking words said in an obvious attempt to get him off his game, which it did. If he was offended by the random words said during a soccer match from a man of no consequence then he will have plenty of other opportunity to handle that. Yes, Matzerrati is probablya scum, that hardly matters, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Gene\_Frenkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gene\_Frenkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gene_Frenkle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/36 "2006-07-11T17:26:39Z")
I think this is a case of people (Americans) not knowing about the sport in general and Zidane in particular and are making a lot more of than it is. Headbutts, slaps, stomps, kicks, spitting, etc. are really not that rare in real (non-US) soccer. Sure, offenses in the last minutes of a World Cup final are more noticable, but was it that much different from what Rooney did? Again, blame the media- people who never watch soccer but tuned in to the Cup got announcers giving non-stop praise of the saintly Zidane, not knowing that he is no stranger to red cards. Then he explodes, and they think it’s a big deal. The buffoon US announcer used the word “vicious” about twenty times like a drama queen in need of a thesarus. The headbutt was to the chest, not to the head, and obviously did not hurt the other player at all- he clearly faked the fall to the ground. And obviously all that bullshit about FIFA stomping out racism is a farce if no action is taken on the poor Italian who “does not even know what a terrorist is”?? My ass. If you’re gonna kick out Zidane for something caught on replay, not live, have the sense to find what triggered the outburst and penalize the racist taunts as well. ---
**Author:** ![Gene\_Frenkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gene\_Frenkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gene_Frenkle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/37 "2006-07-11T17:33:12Z")
As for insults are part of the game- Barcelona striker Sameul Eto’o gets bananas thrown at him, along with monkey noises and called every derogotory black name there is- this is just part of the game as well? ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/38 "2006-07-11T17:46:12Z")
[QUOTE=Gene Frenkle] …If you’re gonna kick out Zidane for something caught on replay, not live, have the sense to find what triggered the outburst and penalize the racist taunts as well. [/QUOTE] Looks like they’re gonna look into it [Link](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5169342.stm) As far as the reaction is concerned, it was total crap. If you can’t handle a few comments till the game is over you’re compromising the TEAM not just yourself, and you have no place on the field. Whether or not France lost because of it is irrelevant. The point is that if a player can blow up like that, he can do it at any time. As has been said, if it was that offensive that he felt justified in retaliating violently, he should have found a convenient dark alley to have a nice personal talk about it after the game, not during play. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/39 "2006-07-11T17:54:29Z")
So we give a free pass just because maybe another player made a derogatory comment? I don’t think so. Zidane was out of the game and didn’t have the legs for it. He was frustrated and took it out on the Italian. So we now have to demonize him to justify Zidane’s petulence and utter stupidity? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945/40 "2006-07-11T18:19:23Z")
Why aren’t people calling for his arrest? Shouldn’t he be charged with assault? If this had happened in a hockey game the outcry would be enormous, why should Zidane get off easier? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zidane-head-butt-thread/363945.md?page=3)