The proper solution would be to hand it over to a team that Italy didn't beat. The US. :D

Zinedine Zidane is of Algerian descent, and he is a Muslim.

According to a lip reader, Materazzi called Zidane the “son of a terrorist whore”.

Now that solution I like! :)

But what part of that statements is deemed racist?

Perhaps I'm being too prescriptive here, but Algerian descendants are mainly caucasian, statements about religious ties to terrorism has nothing to do with race, and calling one's mom a whore is certainly in poor taste but certainly not a racial issue.

I am not going down your path at all, it's wildly speculative at best. I am saying that the real risk in sanctioning -even indirectly- a behaviour like the one we all agree was inescusable would hurt and not help football.

_______

The FIFA rules on racism are valuable and necessary, but you are distorting their purpose. They are meant to sanction behaviours from fans and players which have been seriously hurting football's image. A fascist salute on the field? Kick them out and leave them out; same for a nazi symbol, or other displays which would offend a large number of people.

What we saw here was an exchange of insults between players on the field, a totally PRIVATE affair which happens -and should be allowed to happen or we go into thought police big time- all the time. Nothing to do with public displays of racism. You are going down a path which is orwellian without realizing it.

Terrorist? Strip the title. Mother? Two penalties. Sister? One penalty. Distant relative? Free kick.

Can you just imagine it?

.
Points taken.
We’ll see if there is any aftermath.

I'd hate to hear the remarks made among NFL players to their opponents during a game. There will always be people taunting and trash-talking in any sport. It seems that learning to control one's temper is an essential part of athletic discipline.

I'm wondering if this thread is about done? The games are over.

Perhaps its time to start the 'Official Premiere League Thread' in a months time :rolleyes:

That entirely depends on how much traction this issue gains. The World Cup might not be over...

My personal opinion is that if FIFA said they would do something in a case like this then they should stay true to their word. I wish I could find the article in which they stated what they would do in a situation like this.

I personally think that stopping racism in futbol would have farther reaching consiquences than just the sport itself. Racisim is on the rise all over the world from the reports I've heard. As I recall Nationalism/Racism was one of the main contributors to WWI/WWII. If stripping Italy of the title helped people become a little more aware of this issue, and the fact that some of us will not tolerate that kind of behavior, perhaps it would be worth it in the long run.

This was a private conversation between two individuals.

This kind of logic is really scary, it reminds me so much of Fahrenheit 451 and Orwell. How much control are you willing to impose on individual conversations? Does the 1st amendment ring a bell? How much liberty are you willing to give away exactly not to offend a single individual?

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None of this would matter a bit if not for the completely unacceptable reaction on the French player's side. Your logic will not help fighting racism a bit -assuming that was a racist comment - but you will open the gates of hell for a lot of sports.

ROTF, that'd give the game a whole new twist. I know the lineman talk smack all game long.

I think if you put this incident into a school setting it becomes clear that Zidane fell for the other guy's trap. The teacher caught Zidane giving the Italian what he deserved. Unfortunately they were in an organized event and not in an alley.

I wouldn't vote for nullifing the entire game. One players actions should never get his entire team disqualified. Until FIFA has guidelines for acceptable words on the field, the situation should just stand as it is: Materazzi layed an evil, dirty trap for Zidane and he fell for it.

FIFA has just decided to mount a full investigation into the incident. I am sure they will make every effort to cast light on the entire exchange between the two players. Let’s see what comes of it.

I dont condone his kinda behavior..... but you gotta admit its funny!


http://www.ronaldo-is.com/i-hate-ronaldo-free-pics.php

my personal fav!

http://www.ronaldo-is.com/i-hate-ron...php?id=18&pg=1

who comes up with this?!

A more balanced way to look at it would be to replace your interpretation with 'insulted'. Have you ever insulted anybody? Were you plotting every time? If not, please stick to the facts.

There was an exchange of words followed by a phisical attack. The Italian player the day after admitted he insulted the French player. These are the facts, the rest is total speculation.

At least the French press is more balanced:
"Qu’a bien pu dire Materazzi pour déclencher une telle colère chez le Marseillais ? Certains évoquent des propos racistes, d’autres des insultes à l’encontre de sa mère. Pas sûr que l’on sache un jour la nature exacte de ce débordement verbal ô combien condamnable de l’Italien. Mais on le répète, cela n’excuse pas la réaction du Tricolore. Ni même ne fait office de circonstances atténuantes."
From today's Figaro.

Hmm...good counter point actually, you really shouldn't take things too far, not at all. Even if Zidane is an international superstar, even though the converastion was public, and was broadcast to well over half the world, and is completely and entirely under public scrutiny...even with all that, you can only take things so far.

You are right, took it a bit far. Without going into politics, I am particurarly sensitive to preserve the rule of the law, something which these days is badly needed.

One point. The conversation wasn't public, since there are no microphones on the field. Their actions were public. This is probably why according to the BBC FIFA's president Sepp Blatter has hinted that Zidane could be stripped of his World Cup best player award.

Talking about bringing things too far: the Mirror has published an interview with the affable mother of the French player, who is demanding critical parts of Materazzi's hardware to be served to her on a platter. The apple does not fall far from the tree after all.

I agree. "Terrorist" is not an insult of race or nationality. It's more related to ideology than anything.

How would anyone ever prove what the insult actually was, unless other players heard it? It all seems a weak case, imo, and nothing to forfeit a game about. If trash talking and taunting is illegal, then let the officials penalize the offenders when it happens. If they miss a call, well, that happens in every sport, and sometimes in ways that affect the outcome of the game. You play the game and when it's over, it's over. To do otherwise is to leave the results to nit-picking instant replayers, who can always find "something."

Wha? Sure I've insulted people before...but responding to that with physical violence is not acceptable in organized events (sports, work, bocce ball, etc.). I understand why Zidane did what he did but he should have been smart enough to know that the Italian player was trying to get him to react. Zidane reacted with a head butt in an arena with a crap load of cameras around him.

The "he called me a name" defense doesn't cut it in my book.

Nor in mine, I tried to point out that the saying it was a 'dirty trap' was an assumption not a fact. I don't condone the reaction, but it is not for that reason that I can assume the intention of the Italian player.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...06/5169342.stm

"But the France legend did not reveal what Materazzi said, only confirming that it was "very personal" and concerned his mother and his sister."

I told you! I am not saying that it was nice, but it had NOTHING to do with racism; a lot of e-ink wasted for nothing, after what was a completely normal - if rude - exchange of taunts between two adults.

But I thought you shouldn't start a sentence in English with a but.

Hmm. I'm gonna have to say, I'm starting to agree with lostduck and phil. Saying someone is a terrorist isn't really all that racist, insulting sure, but FIFA said they would slap heaven fines for racist insults, not just insults in general.

The press has been trying to say that because of Zidans heritage that they are calling him an Islamic terrorist, but that's not even what SOS Racism is claiming. They just used the term "dirty terrorist" not "dirty muslim terrorist". So I'm gonna have to throw in with the people who say that the comment is racist at all, just insulting.