ZZ and Materazzi fined and banned
FIFA passed its sentence on Marco Materazzi and Zinedine Zidane today. Zidane was fined €5,000 and banned for 3 matches. Materazzi was fined €3,500 and banned for 2 games, meaning he will miss the World Cup final repeat - Italy’s qualifier for Euro 2008 at the Stade de France, in September. FIFA confirmed that Materazzi’s verbal abuse was not racist.
Our verdict? Bizarre. Zidane’s punishment: what’s the point of banning someone who has retired? Zidane has pledged to spent 3 days doing community service instead but still, if Zizou had done what he did on the street he would be facing a jail term. The fine is pathetic. It sends out the message that it’s OK to head-butt. Materazzi’s punishment: its disproportionate. How many times do players insult each other on the pitch? How many are punished? An insult is being deemedto be almost as bad as a head-butt!
The decision is obviously politically motivated. FIFA wants to appease the French and preserve the image of Zidane as the greatest player of his generation. It’s too much of a “coincidence” that the Matrix is banned from the match in France where he was likley to receive a “special” welcome. Blatter and Co have made a mess of this one…
