On the 9 July I, like anybody who was interested in football, was watching the final of the World Cup on TV. It was a pleasure to watch these two great teams, Italy and France, with every player doing his best to outwit his opponent by dribbling or feinting a move and giving much pleasure to us spectators.

The game was nearly over, and the score was still a draw (1 - 1), when all of a sudden, the screen showed Materazzi walking behind Zidane and suddenly Zidane turned back and head-butted him.

Then we saw the referee talk to one of his colleagues, walk over to Zidane and show him the red card. Zidane did not argue and walked to the dressing room. France played the rest of the game with 10 men. In the end Italy had a bit of luck and won on penalties.

I did not write this letter to talk about the game or who won, but to say how these two gentlemen of the game ruined my evening, which till then I was enjoying.

I felt sick and disgusted by what we all saw on TV and I felt really sorry for Zidane to have lost his control completely.

I only saw what Zidane did, and you could not hear what Materazzi said before this episode, or how many time he insulted Zidane.

Investigations are still going on and FIFA knows what to do in these circumstances.

The real culprit knows who provoked who, what was actually said and how many times Materazzi repeated his comments.

Farewell to Zidane. You have given so much joy to thousands. I think you were always a gentleman on the pitch and you did not need to insult your opponent to get past him as you had enough talent. You are known all over the world. Good luck dear Zidane and may you forgive Materazzi for those cruel words.

Charles Zammit

Ibrag