All about that red card

Just what provoked Zinedine Zidane into that maniac outburst that marred his professional swansong in the World Cup final Sunday evening?

Surely it would not require a rocket scientist to question what Marco Materazzi uttered that led the imperious Zizou to headbutt him in the chest late into extra time yesterday.

While not the coolest of heads and not excusing his act of idiocy, it surely must have taken an insult of some magnitude for somebody like Zidane to ruin his grand goodbye the way he did.

The world should not just remember the 2006 World Cup final for that red card not least because the Italians are no angels themselves.

Despite their technical ability, this same bunch of Italians, lest we forget, is also one of the foremost proponents of what referees refer to as simulation, or what we football couch potatoes call diving.

Remember their round-of-16 match against Australia where Fabio Grasso made a mountain out of the non-existent molehill against despairing defender Lucas Neill to earn that penalty in that game?

Their lack of moral courage accentuated ironically by the same player who tripped Malouda for the French penalty. I dare say the Argentinian referee got it wrong when he failed to penalise Zambrotta when he went for the legs of the same player instead of the ball.

I was rooting for the French last night, because I thought they were the side that was the more honest team, that was more honourable. How ironic therefore that this honour was tarnished by the provocation by a member of the not-so-honourable.

It would have been perfectly okay if the French still lost with Zidane on the pitch. Yes, he should have known better given his experience, but who are we to say how we would react in his position at that point in time.

Did you see the slow-mo replay?

Zidane didn't even react against Materazzi for wrapping his hands around him when marking him. He even smiled and shrugged it off. Yet that headbutt came in a matter of seconds after that.

If Zidane has to live with this eternal blemish to his name, then surely Materazzi must also face some form of a sanction for those offending words that came utterly unprovoked.

Indeed as soccernet.com columnist Alex Chick suggests, Zidane will be forgiven even if his crime will never be forgotten.

"It would be a tragedy to let the end of Zidane's career obscure over a decade of brilliance. The journey is more important than the destination."