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Originally posted by solgrabber LOL, I would of dived too if the defender grabbed my foot after failing to stop me with his sh*t tackle in front of the ref.

he clearly moves his arm so that he wouldnt trip and the guy doesn't lift his foot over him on purpose.

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Originally posted by solgrabber LOL, I would of dived too if the defender grabbed my foot after failing to stop me with his sh*t tackle in front of the ref.

Your timeline is a bit screwed. Shit tackle, then dive, with Grosso hitting the aussie in the arm.

funny how a zidane thread got almost double the post count of the second most replied to thread

everyone forgets about the real headbutt hero FIGO. Zidane might be the master headbutter, but figos the master of getting away with the headbutt.

Both Zidane and Figo should be punished for their actions. We will all know in a couple of days (July 20th) what the outcome is of the Zidane/Materazzi incident anyhow.

Well done Azzurri, champions of 2006!

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Originally posted by RapidFire he clearly moves his arm so that he wouldnt trip and the guy doesn't lift his foot over him on purpose.

Exactly. It seems some people are watching an entirely different video. The video posted on the previous page clearly shows Neill doing everything he can to avoid contact with Grosso. It's not his fault Grosso just ran all over him and threw himself to the floor.

solgrabber, you can do anything in the penalty area that you can do on the rest of the pitch. The reason the penalty area is there is to determine the punishment when a foul is given (hence its name) and also to mark where the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball. I feel like I'm explaining the absolute basics of football here.

Last edited by evil_bastard on Jul-20-2006 at 13:12

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solgrabber, you can do anything in the penalty area that you can do on the rest of the pitch. The reason the penalty area is there is to determine the punishment when a foul is given (hence its name) and also to mark where the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball. I feel like I'm explaining the absolute basics of football here.

Thanks, I know you can do the same in the penalty area as the pitch but the difference is if you commit a foul in your own box you get a penalty kick awarded to the opposing team just like what happened with Grosso. It is that simple, really.

I played for over 10 years I know the rules, thanks.

As for the Zidane/Materazzi incident no racial slurs were made and it was confirmed again today after both players were suspended from Fifa.

Zidane received a three game suspension and Materazzi received two games, both were fined as well. There is still a chance that Zidane can lose the Golden Ball and rightfully so as it belongs to Cannavaro regardless. BBC is reporting that Fifa will allow Zidane to keep the award though.

http://www.tsn.ca/tsn/news_story.asp?id=171815

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foo...006/5198796.stm

The ban for Materazzi is absolutely ridiculous (especially when Zidane only got one more match than him). Here is an analysis i found on eurosport.com that i couldn't agree any more with:

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It’s official: the language of the playground can now land you in serious hot water. Alex Chick believes the two-match ban given to Marco Materazzi for provoking Zinédine Zidane sets a dreadful precedent and would not have been doled out had the Italian not been such an easy target. The ban for a shockingly forceful head-butt (or rather chest-butt) in front of billions of viewers around the world: three games that you aren't going to play anyway. The ban for a few of the petty insults that pepper every football match: two games, including a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against (the irony of it all!) France. By punishing Materazzi for his provocation, FIFA partially legitimised Zidane's actions in the World Cup final. Yes, Zidane also received a ban rendered meaningless by his retirement from football, but the very clear conclusion is that Materazzi mitigated the Frenchman's crime. It must first be acknowledged that Materazzi is no saint and has a history of misdemeanours, but where was the evidence in this case? All FIFA had to go on was the testimony of the two players. Materazzi, to his credit, admitted to insulting Zidane, but what if he had denied it? It would have been one player's word against each other. It is one thing using the fourth official (and possibly a TV replay, although FIFA deny this) to spot a piece of violent conduct. It is quite another to punish somebody when only the players involved really know what went on. BARRAGE OF EXCUSES Prepare yourself for a barrage of excuses and appeals every time a player is sent off this season. "But he threatened to eat my hamster!" players will bleat. Verbal provocation has been outlawed, meaning players, coaches and managers will now expect sanctions against any victim of a kick, stamp or elbow. Of course, all this has only come about because it was Zinédine Zidane. The greatest footballer of the last 20 years ended his career in the worst way imaginable. Having rightly earned a reputation as a player for the big occasion, he blew it. Never mind that it was the 14th red card of a surprisingly combustible career, Materazzi must have done something terrible. Look at him! A burly, tattooed hulk who was sent off three times during one season in the Premiership of all places. Commentators ignored his reputation as an easy-going, tolerant man and his friendship with Inter's Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins. Instead they immediately bandied around accusations of racism, claiming he had called Zidane a terrorist. NO RACISM But FIFA today confirmed: "In their statements, both players stressed that Materazzi's comments had been defamatory but not of a racist nature." Even if Zidane had been racially abused, he should have followed the lead of Samuel Eto'o and Marco Zoro and simply walked off the pitch. It doesn't matter what was said. If Materazzi insulted Zidane's unwell mother, it was unkind and insensitive, but a player of the Frenchman's experience should obviously know not to take the bait. Let's pretend that the head-butt had not been Zidane on Materazzi, but Francesco Totti on Lilian Thuram. Totti is known for his short fuse, while Thuram is a legendary figure in European football with an impeccable reputation. There would have been no inquest, no time for excuses. Totti would have been roundly condemned and Thuram exonerated. Players have wound each other up since time immemorial; it is something they have to deal with. Zidane's act was not one of a man fighting back after a career of silently accepting the insults, or standing up for his brothers-in-arms. Simply put, he lost his rag. The pressure of finishing his career with such a match and the impending ordeal of penalties got to him. MARADONA MADNESS That's OK, he is not the first player to let the occasion get to him. Diego Maradona's 1982 World Cup ended in disgrace when he lashed frustratedly at a Brazilian opponent as Argentina crashed out. But let's not pretend that Zidane's crime was any less foolish. Materazzi won't let this get to him. He has thrived on his unpopularity and proved it by thumping home a penalty in the shootout while being booed to the rafters by France fans. In any case, he plays for Inter. All he has to deal with is a two-match ban while many of his team-mates find themselves in Serie B. But the Italian has had his reputation dragged through the mud for hurling the kind of abuse that is heard hundreds of times a weekend at grounds across the world. There are some things that need to be eradicated from the game. Racism is intolerable and great strides are being made to stamp it out. By adding routine name-calling to the list of unacceptable behaviour, FIFA risk trivialising the greater battle and undermine the work that has already been done.

http://www.eurosport.com/football/w...sto929153.shtml

This guy is absolutely right - this is a dangerous precedent. FIFA are basically putting name-calling on the same level of violence.

^^as it should!

But after today's decision FIFA looks like they're managing a mickey mouse sports federation.

with such insignificant penalties, violence AND name calling are now legitimized.

Did FIFA forget that this event overshadowed a whole worldcup which was nearly perfect in all aspects? overshadowed the winners, overshadowed the sport.

In 20 years, people will only remember zidane's headbut from germany 2006.

Some thousands euros as penalty??

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In 20 years, people will only remember zidane's headbut from germany 2006.

It will be remembered but also along with Italy winning the tournament. As time goes by Zidane's and Materazzi's incident will fade but the World Cup champions are inked in the book for good.

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Originally posted by solgrabber Thanks, I know you can do the same in the penalty area as the pitch but the difference is if you commit a foul in your own box you get a penalty kick awarded to the opposing team just like what happened with Grosso. It is that simple, really. I played for over 10 years I know the rules, thanks.

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Originally posted by solgrabber Your claim that you can do the same in the penalty box as on the pitch is nonsense.

Those two statements really don't add up. Never mind.

Regarding Zidane, I agree with the BBC when they say that, bizarrely, Zidane may not only have come out of this incident with his reputation intact, but seemingly enhanced. He certainly went out with a bang and for many it has brought him closer to the people, they've seen that he is human like the rest of us and prone to error. He had become such a god-like figure in France, voted the most liked Frenchman ever and once even tipped to be president. He's had problems with his temper before, but they were most frequently in his early days as a player at Cannes. As the son of Algerian immigrants he grew up in Marseille's notoriously poor La Castellane district and was often mocked on the field for his parentage and upbringing. He amassed quite a few red cards in his early playing days for headbutting players who verbally abused him, but later cleaned up his act while at Real Madrid. To see him do that with all his experience shocked the world but perhaps, as his teammate Thierry Henry said, you can take a man out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the man. In the end I think the pressure and emotion of the situation got to him and Materazzi pressed the right buttons.

I don't think Zidane will be remembered just for his headbutt. Eric Cantona, who also grew up in Marseille, shocked the footballing world when he did a flying kick into the chest of a fan in the middle of a Premiership game. Yet, 11 years on he is remembered as a player who lit up the game with his magic on the pitch, a misunderstood genius, if you like. I believe Zidane will go down in history with the same image, a misunderstood genius whose final moments in football were to headbutt an opponent in a World Cup final and then collect the Golden Ball as the best player in the World Cup, at the age of 34. We'll remember his winning goal in the Champions League final, his winning goals in the World Cup final, his La Liga and Serie A title, his three World Player of the Year awards. He retires the game having won everything and many consider him to be one of the greatest footballers ever, people don't forget players like that.

Last edited by evil_bastard on Jul-21-2006 at 02:20

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Originally posted by paranoik0 The ban for Materazzi is absolutely ridiculous (especially when Zidane only got one more match than him). Here is an analysis i found on eurosport.com that i couldn't agree any more with: http://www.eurosport.com/football/w...sto929153.shtml This guy is absolutely right - this is a dangerous precedent. FIFA are basically putting name-calling on the same level of violence.

Abusive language is punished by a straight red card.

And the punishment for a straight red is, by default, a three match ban.

So if Materazzi has admitted to using abusive language then they are entitled to give him the standard 3 match ban as they always have been. In this case they have given him a 2 match suspension.

BBC:

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A player is sent off and shown the red card if they commit any of the following seven offences. # Serious foul play # Violent conduct, such as throwing a punch # Spitting at an opponent or another person # A player other than the goalkeeper denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball # Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free-kick or a penalty kick # Using offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures # Receiving a second caution in the match

Last edited by evil_bastard on Jul-21-2006 at 02:25