And we bid adieu to one of the finest footballers the world has ever known, Zinedine "Zizou" Zidane... albeit under a cloud of controversy pending a FIFA review of the words exchanged between the man and the Italian player, Marco Materazzi, and the head-butt. According to on-field and off-field accounts, Materazzi called Zidane (the son of Algerian immigrants and a non-practicing Muslim) a "Harkis" -- or the colonial equivalent to French-Algerians of the American insult that starts with the letter "N." As well as making comments on Zidane's mother, who fell ill that same day.
Insults are a part of sports, let's not deny that, but the world of football has been marred since its inception by racism. So let's hope this goes beyond a slight on their careers and prompts the governing body of organized football to really crack down on the racists on the pitch.
I'm happy my 90th post counts for the 90 minutes on the pitch. So yeah, I'm a fucking nerd. So long Zidane, and thanks for all the glory.
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