The Zidane incident in the World Cup final is to be the subject of an official probe, FIFA announced on Tuesday.
The football world governing body simultaneously made clear that the decision to show the French captain a red card had come, not from the video evidence beamed to millions of viewers around the world, but from the direct observations of the fourth official.
"Referee Horacio Elizondo sent off French player Zinedine Zidane for an act of violence against Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute," FIFA said.
"The incident was directly observed [without the use of a monitor] by fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo from his position at the pitchside, who informed the referee and his assistants through the communications system," the official statement said.
FIFA will open a disciplinary investigation into Zidane's conduct to enable it to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident as exactly as possible," it said.
Red cards at international level were routinely investigated, FIFA said.
While Materazzi admitted insulting Zidane, he said he had been provoked.
Zidane was to speak out about the incident on French television last night for the first time.
He was to speak on pay channel Canal Plus at 6pm GMT.
Zidane was sent off when he head-butted Materazzi in the chest during the final in Berlin, which Italy went on to win on penalties.
The late showing of the red card over the incident prompted speculation from French coach Raymond Domenech, among others, that Cantalejo witnessed the incident via a TV monitor and then informed referee Horacio Elizondo.
FIFA said immediately after the match that video evidence, which it outlaws except for post-match disciplinary action, was not used.
Cantalejo also said in a Spanish radio interview that he saw what Zidane did and also explained the delay.
"I saw it happen live, I didn't invent anything. This incident shows how important the fourth official is. My job is to help the referee and that is exactly what I did," Cantalejo said.
"I don't know what Materazzi said to Zidane but there were protests about the action and Gianluigi Buffon went to talk to the linesman. When everything calmed down I told Elizondo what had happened," he said.
As far as Zidane is concerned, FIFA's probe will be largely symbolic. He has announced his retirement, and the French public, along with members of the establishment, have forgiven him.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB