So. A red card for head-butting a dude in the chest, and the career of Zinedine Zidane is over. I've got to disagree with
Alex Palazzo at The Daily Transcript on this one: that card may have cost France the game.
But hey, what aggressive player doesn't blow his top once in a while? And if you're going to lose it, what better time that after 110 minutes of playing your ass off, nearly dislocating your shoulder, coming close to scoring the winning goal, and then listening to some Italian asshole talk shit to you? I like
Slate's take on it: this is France, not Hollywood. In my book, Zidane is still a badass, and perhaps even more of a badass after going out in flames like that. Heroic.
So what did Materazzi say to spark the whole thing? Everyone in France is going to be talking about this until Zidane's press conference in the next few days, but Le Monde (on top of the news as always) has
some speculation. They consider three possibilities:
1. Racist insults, like "dirty terrorist". This seems unlikely to me: head-butting a guy for calling you a terrorist? That's pretty lame.
2. Something about his family. Classic.
3. Insunuations about a steroid scandal.
The world (or at least some small part of it) waits with bated breath...
UPDATE: John Podhoretz, the resident
emmerdeur at The Corner, has some (utterly un-funny)
speculation.
Va te faire foutre, dude.