Zinedine Zidane

I watched football for the first time, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I was supporting Brazil, the magic of Ronaldino, the infectious smile of Kafu. Then i saw the superb passing of Zinedine Zidane was was amazed at his talent. The final between Italy and France was exciting until the headbutt by Zidane that changed the whole complexion of the game. Now that we are hearing about the reasons of why he reacted the way he did, a context is emerging. The Italian Marco Materrazi's constant taunts, cursing his mother and family, calling him a terrorist is unacceptable. I don't agree with how Zidane reacted, but i strongly feel that action needs to be taken on Materrazi. We were taught while growing up that winning was not everything, how you played the game, displaying good sportmanship was more important, than the final prize. The Italian win needs to be rethought, they won the cup, but did they play a good game, the answer is no. Winning at any cost is not acceptable. The means are more important than the end.
Here is a detailed article of the taunts, in the age from Australia.

Why? Why? Why?" screamed a French commentator in anguish as he watched a replay of Zinedine Zidane's headbutt, which led to his dismissal from the World Cup final.
It is the question the world's media is scrambling to answer, but as yet, cannot definitively do so.
Yesterday, the soccer media had come up with at least half-a-dozen versions of what Italian defender Marco Materazzi is supposed to have said to incense the French captain.
An Italian lip-reader, who claimed to have deciphered Materazzi's words, told the BBC that Materazzi had said: "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family", and then added, "Go f--- yourself."
Britain's top forensic lip-reader, Jessica Rees - whose skill has led her to be summoned as an expert witness at criminal trials - believed Materazzi called Zidane a "son of a terrorist whore" before he added, "So just f--- off".
The Daily Mail said it, too, engaged a lip-reader who reached the same conclusion as Rees.
Brazil's Globo television also employed lip-reading experts, who concluded Materazzi had twice told Zidane his sister was a "whore", before directing "a coarse word" at him.
The French anti-racism group SOS Racisme issued a statement alleging that "several very well informed sources from the world of football" were convinced Materazzi called Zidane a "dirty terrorist".
Other reports suggested the taunt was directed at Zidane's mother, who is believed to be unwell, or his French-Spanish wife. Italia Telecom's Alice sports website reported that Materazzi had derided Zidane with the words: "Yeah, yeah, you're the phenomenon."
Zidane's agent, Alain Migliaccio, said he had been "provoked" when Materazzi said "something very grave".
Zidane's parents are Algerian, and he describes himself as a non-practising Muslim. Mokhtar Haddad, a cousin who gathered with friends and family to examine the incident on a big screen in the family's village of Aguemoune, 260 kilometres east of Algiers, said: "We think he either called him a terrorist or a son of Harkis." Harkis is a severe insult to Algerians, a term for collaborators in the Algerian war of independence from France. "The insult went in that direction," said Djamel Zidane, the player's brother. "Otherwise, he would not have reacted that way."
Materazzi steadfastly maintains that his jibes were not along racial lines. "It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist," he said. "I'm ignorant. I don't even know what the word means.