ROME, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- It was a sister slur that provoked France's captain Zinedine Zidane to head butt Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final, the Italian player has disclosed.
Revealing it for the first time since the incident that led to Zidane being sent off, Materazzi told the Gazzetta dello Sport he made mention of Zidane's sister, Sky News reports.
The Italian defender said he made the remark after tugging at Zidane's shirt.
"It's not a particularly nice thing to say, I recognize that. But loads of players say worse things.
"I didn't even know he had a sister before all this happened."
Zidane, who has retired from football, has never disclosed exactly what Materazzi said to him that led to the head butt. He too has not apologized to his opponent, the report said.
