According to the AP: “Zinedine Zidane apologized for head-butting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final, saying Wednesday that he was provoked by harsh insults about his mother and sister.”

  • Watch the interview (in French, no subtitles)

    • AP:

    PARIS – French soccer star Zinedine Zidane apologized for head-butting an Italian opponent during the World Cup final, saying Wednesday that he was provoked by harsh insults about his mother and sister.

    “I apologize, to all the children” who watched the match Sunday, Zidane said in his first, highly awaited comments about the brutal act of violence that marked the end of his career.

    The 34-year-old midfielder, soft-spoken and relaxed in the interview with the Canal-Plus television network, did not specify exactly what Italian defender Marco Materazzi said that enraged him, but said it was about his family.

    “I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that,” Zidane said, stressing that Materazzi’s language was “very harsh,” and that he repeated the insults several times.

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