Zizou Speaks

Mail and Guardian (za): What really happened, by Zinedine Zidane

He said that while he was sorry for all that had happened, he had no regrets about retaliating against Materazzi.

"I can't say I have any regrets about what I did because that would be like admitting that he had every reason to say what he said." said Zidane.

"I can't, repeat can't say that. He had no reason to say what he said. It's always the reaction that is sanctioned and not the provoker."

Zidane said that the final had been without any major incidents between the two teams up until his dramatic clash with Materazzi when the Italian had tugged at his shirt.

"I told him to stop pulling my shirt and that he could have it if he wanted at the end of the match," he said.

"That was when words were said, very hard words and he said them several times.

"Words can sometimes be harder than actions. It all went very quickly and they were words that hurt me deep down.

"The real culprit should be sanctioned and the real culprit is him. He provoked it all.

"Do you imagine that in a World Cup final like that with just 10 minutes to go to the end of my career, I am going to do something like that because it gives me pleasure?"

News 24 (sa): Zidane: Sorry, but no regrets

Zidane denied Materazzi called him an Islamic "terrorist", as was reported by a Paris-based anti-racism group.

NPR: Zizou Speaks

"He (Materazzi) pronounced very tough words about my mother and my sister. I tried not to listen to him but he kept repeating them," Zidane said in a live interview on French television channel Canal Plus.