Zidane: My Mother and Sister were Insulted
	July 14, 2006 French soccer star Zidane, whose red card in the final match of the World Cup has been the center of an enormous controversy, said that Italian soccer player Materazzi crudely insulted his mother and sister. “He used extremely severe expressions touching to me deeply, about my mother and sister. I can’t go into detail. I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that,” the Algerian soccer player said. He told the Turkish television station Channel Plus that Materazzi’s language was “very harsh,” and that he repeated the insults several times. He said he tried to overlook the insults but he couldn’t tolerate them anymore as Materazzi continued swearing. Calmly and attentively, Zidane repeatedly apologized to his fans, especially children. “I do not take pride in my behavior. However, I don’t regret anything that happened, I accept it.” “Above all I am a human,” he said. However, Materazzi maintains that he never insulted Zidane’s mother and sister. Zidane Might Lose Golden Ball Joseph Blatter, the FIFA chairman, said Zidane may be stripped of his Golden Ball award. Blatter said that whether or not the award will be taken back will depend on the outcome of the investigation that FIFA has launched regarding Zidane’s red card. “Knowing Zidane for years, I felt great distress over the incident,” Blatter said. He evaluated the reactions in Italy due to bestowing the Golden Ball to Zidane: “The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists. But I asked the disciplinary committee to open an inquiry into the event.”