All in all, Rich, these are pretty good comments, in part because they steer clear of a technical discussion and address the human element that seems to interest you more. You do, however, make one assertion that needs to be rebutted. I quote:

"He then added, “The reaction must be punished, but if there had been no provocation, there would have been no reaction,” he said.

"(I couldn't agree more, by the way, and I am struck by how many of the posters on this board seem to think that Zidane's unsportmanlike behavior was outrageous—outrageous!—while Materazzi's slurs were part of the game, standard operating procedure, nothing to get upset about. Talk about a double standard....)"

Here again I think you're just wrong on both ethical and technical grounds. Taking the latter first, yes there is a double standard: trash talk is not penalized, physical violence is. That reflects perhaps a standard you do not agree with, but everyone understands it; so the two acts cannot be equated in terms of the game itself. As to the ethical point, isn't Zidane just defending a rather ancient concept of justice -- i.e., retributive justice? And indeed, a particularly vicious kind -- you insult my "honor" and I, as a "man", must take violent revenge. Lets see, in India, if a man suspects his wife (who is probably a child bride sold to him by her parents) of adultery, his culture allows him to douse her with oil and set her alight. And in order to preemptively protect an African man's "honor", it is perfectly all right to force your young daughter to undergo a clitorectomy.

Ok, I know these are extreme examples, but exactly why do you justify a violent response to a verbal insult? Surely that general attitude toward what it means to be a "man of honor" has a lot to do with the tragedies and disasters with which human history is replete.
 

It's been repeatedly asserted on this board that "trash talk is not penalized" in soccer...and yet, I could swear I read somewhere that a rule against such conduct does in fact exist. Anyone know the answer to this question?

For the record, I don't justify a violent response to a verbal insult...although I leave open the possibility that there are some situations in which people deserve a good punch to the nose and there's nothing really wrong with giving it to them. All I'm suggesting is that we also allot blame to the person who provokes the violence, rather than the person who gives in to it.

Materazzi, for one, surely seems to recognize this; he realizes that he's come out of this affair probably looking worse than Zidane, and he's doing everything he can to backpedal, including saying that Zidane deserves to keep the Gold Ball.
 

The point is, the acts are of different magnitude. The Zidane-sympathizers want to allot equal blame to Materazzi, and that's the problem. No one is defending Materazzi as a great guy, great sportsman, etc. But his act was not on a part with Zidane's, who is now excusing himself as vigorously as Materazzi is backpedaling.
 

As the Israelis and their Arab neighbors head butt each other with guns, tanks, rockets and bombs, at this very moment, it may be worthwhile to pause for a moment and remember that sports is sports, folks.

Herewith, one commentator's thoughts on Zidane's qualifications to compete in the US:

"Zinedine Zidane is lucky he doesn't play real football, NFL style.

Or basketball, NBA style.

Or baseball on a major league pitch (I mean field).

If the reasons behind the World Cup temper tantrum that got him chucked out of one of the biggest games of his life are true, then international soccer fields are tempermentally the right place for him.

If it takes for Zidane to go off like a North Korean rocket — which is to say like a dud — is for someone to insult his mother he'd have enough red cards in those other leagues to open a Red Roof Inn without having to buy roof tiles.

"Yes, it is true,'' the hot-tempered star said. "He has called mi Mamma a foul name. He has insult-TED mi mamma, mi sistah. Sacre re blu!''

Or surely Zidane's reaction was something similar after foul-mouthed Italian Marco Materazzi admitted that, "It is true! I did insult him. But I categorically did not call him a terrorist.''

Thanks goodness for that.

A Paris-based anti-racism group — that had absolutely no way of knowing what was said — had claimed Materazzi called Zidane a "dirty terrorist,'' an insult apparently to his Algerian heritage.

Turns out the insult was more personal than that. Now, as insults go "Yo Mama'' hardly ranks with what Terrell Owens might say to the valet parking guy at a Dallas restaurant — let alone to an opposing cornerback. But this is soccer after all, a more genteel sporting endeavor (never mind England's Wayne Rooney stepping purposefully on the testicles of a Portugese defender. Hey, it happens.)

As for the claim that Materazzi insulted Zidane's mother, well, on most professional fields of play in the U.S., it's more of a news bulletin if someone isn't insulting your mother. In fact, at times insults to your mother are considered terms of endearment, depending on the tone of who's delivering them. Not to mention his size.

"Dirty terrorist'' is an insult of a different nature, of course.

Call Shaq a dirty terrorist and he might slam dunk over you. Have Kobe Bryant insult Shaq's' mother and he might laugh with some heartiness. And then dunk over you.

In major league baseball you can get punched in the head for running too hard into an opposing catcher. In World Cup soccer you can be head-butted for saying 'Your Mama wears boots de combat.''


Oh, but wait a minute. There's also the matter of shirt tugging.

There's an offense worthy of being expelled from the biggest game of your life. What's a guy to do? Let just anyone grab his laundry?

"I held his shirt for a few seconds only,'' Materazzi confessed Tuesday. "Then he turned round and spoke to me, sneering.''

(Oh, good Lord no!).

"He looked me up and down, arrogantly (can you IMAGINE?) and said, 'If you really want my shirt, I'll give it to you afterwards,''' Materazzi continued.

Then the Italian admitted he responded verbally with, "One of those insults you're told tens of times and that always fly around the pitch.''

Something like suggesting "Yo Momma engages in acts prohibited by law in most states?'' What's a man to do after such an insult? Play on?

How does one come to grips with the actions of the great Zidane then, whose response to this verbal cannonade was to commit the soccer version of Mike Tyson biting off Evander Holyfield's ear?

How do we explain how a sport whose advocates love to call it "the beautiful game'' turned into ultimate fighting only hours after the new York Times had called Zidane "a master of unparalled grace?''

Easy. Forget trying to put it in the context of T.O. losing his mind and dogging Donovan McNabb. Stop trying to look at it in comparison to Kermit Washington knocking the face off of Rudy Tomjanovich.

As insults go, don't try to compare it to any of Ozzie Guillen's top 100 tirades, because "I do not like your Mama'' pales in comparison to a Gullien insult on his least profane day.

Consider it this way instead: His decision to head-butt Materazzi was the difference between Sonny Corleone and Michael Corleone.

Sonny would have gone with the head-butt. Michael, on the other hand, would have just dropped off a horse head in his bed in a few weeks. But commit a sporting crime with a stadium full of witnesses who could finger him standing right there? No way, Francois."

Ha!
 

From all reports, the French are puffing their chests up about this and enjoying the literary/philosophical overtones so much that losing the game seems less important. Perhaps, after all, that is the true lesson. The Zidane sympathizers can feel vindicated, since Zizou did what we all feel like doing sometimes: punching out an asshole. And the Materazzi defenders can feel vindicated too: its all about whether you win or lose, and he (and the Italians) won. There is no single truth. This is a glorious paradox that should be celebrated for what it reflects: the secret story of the human heart.
 

Well written, Richard. I too have come out of this with a better opinion of Zidane.
 

To the poster who said that the acts are of different magnitude...tell that to Archimedes.
 

who wuz archimedes and did he play ze futbal? oh no, i think. i head butt him, yes i do. he is dead, but i head butt him anyway. please tell me of living people and i will head butt them in time also. tank you very much.