Marco Materazzi admits insulting Zidane

Italian soccer player Marco Materazzi admits insulting Zinedine Zidane during the World Cup final match. Suggestions that Materazzi called Zidane a "terrorist" were denied by the Italian player.

Interesting statement by Materazzi:
(from the Gazzetta dello Sport)

"I did insult him, it's true. But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is."

Not cultured. Even though I think Zidane should not have snapped, it is despicable for Materazzi to use insults as a matter of screwing around with the player's mind during a soccer match.

Also from Rome:
Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni accused FIFA of double standards, noting that soccer's governing body named Zidane as the tournament's best player after his head-butt, while Italy forward Francesco Totti was kicked out of the 2004 European Championship for spitting in an opponent's face.

Shut up Veltroni. You got your trophy, and with the way Italy played during the whole tournament, none of them should get the Golden Ball individual award. Just enjoy your four years of being the best (arguably) football team in the world. We will wait until 2010 in South Africa.

CNNsi.com - Materazzi admits insulting Zidane