Zidane: Materazzi insulted my family
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-13 08:26 "The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international
commission of journalists," Blatter said in Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"That said, FIFA's executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene
when faced with behavior contrary to the ethics of the sport."
FIFA's disciplinary committee opened an inquiry Tuesday into Zidane's
behavior. His red card was not unusual: Zidane was sent off 14 times in his
career at the club and international level.
Despite his temper, Zidane is better known for his sportsmanship and
dancer-like technique. He is a national hero for the French and a symbol of a
young, multicultural France. Born to Algerian immigrants, Zidane grew up playing
on concrete in an impoverished neighborhood of Marseille.
President Jacques Chirac has had only kind words for Zidane since the match —
reassuring him that France still "admires and loves him." Many in France already
have pardoned Zidane: A poll published Tuesday in Le Parisien newspaper showed
61 percent of the 802 people questioned forgave Zidane.
Zidane said many people have asked him not to retire, but he said he would
not change his mind.
"I won't go back on it, at least I hope so. ... It's definitive," he said.
Zidane told TF1 television he was "going to rest, and then move on to
something else."
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