The Road To VAR | Ep 4
As Zidane head bowed, solemnly walked past the gleaming World Cup trophy for the very last time, the actions taken that fateful day would lead to the greatest revolution the sport had ever seen. The actions taken not by Zidane, but by the team of match officials in charge of officiating the world's greatest sporting spectacle.
The new century saw technology being used in a number of sports. Hawkeye was the brainchild of British scientist Paul Hawkins. In 2001, the Hawkeye system made its debut in international cricket, when the system was used in the test series between England and Pakistan. Hawkeye allowed for computer technology to visually track the trajectory of a ball and help with LBW decisions in cricket. In 2006, the Hawkeye system was approved for use by the International Tennis Federation for Line Calls.
American sports were more ahead of the game, with the NHL using video replay since 1991. FIFA, football's world governing body, would remain unmoved on the issue of video technology.The turn of the new century also saw France's golden generation add the 2000 European Championship crown to the World Cup trophy they'd won just two years earlier. They were only the second team to achieve the double after Germany's triumphs of 1972 and '74. France was set to dominate international football in the 2000s and arrived at 2002 World Cup as the clear pre-tournament favourites. As the current holders, France were given automatic entry into Asia's first ever World Cup, with Japan and South Korea joint hosts. Without qualification to worry about, Roger Lamere had the luxury of being able to experiment with his French team in the build up to the World Cup.
In 2001, Lamere added the Confederations Cup to the trophy cabinet which only served to prove that this French team would take some stopping. The squad was looking in good shape and its star players were arriving in form. Although Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires was ruled out after rupturing his cruciate ligament. Lamere did voice concern over the number of fixtures his players were having to play in particular Pires and his Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry.
The sheer number of fixtures coupled with the physical demands of the English Premier League left the French manager concerned that his most potent attackers would arrive at the World Cup in less than top form. No such fears for France's talisman, Zinedine Zidane. Zidane had just provided one of the most iconic goals in the history of the European club game. After his stunning volley helped Real Madrid overcome Germany's Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Champions League. That was 16 days before the start of the World Cup. But with less than a week to go before the tournament curtain raiser, Zidane limped off during a friendly with co-hosts South Korea.
The very next day, Claude Simone, the head of the French football federation, broke the news that every French fan had dreaded. The French captain, their best player and inspiration, would miss at least the first two games of the World Cup. The consolation was that the World Champions were up against African minnows Senegal and South America's Uruguay. Surely the defending World and European champions could afford to be without Zidane in the group stages and look forward to his return for the knockout stages of the competition. Not long after the game against Senegal had kicked off, it became apparent that this would not be the routine win most had expected. In fact, there were already shades of Argentina's embarrassing loss to Cameroon on the opening day of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. It didn't get better for the French as they drew against Uruguay and slumped to defeat in the final group game against Denmark.
The World and European Champions were out and France hadsome serious soul searching to do. Lemire was shown the door. In came Jacques Santini to lead them into the Euro 2004 tournament. The defending European Champions were knocked out by Greece in the quarter finals and France were once again searching for a new manager. Raymond Dominic was the new man in charge and his French team struggled in the early rounds of qualification for the 2006 World Cup.
Dominic turned to experience, tempting Zidane, Claude Makelele and Lillian Turam out of retirement. The return of this experienced trio, Zidane's in particular, was described by Henri as akin divine intervention, the Arsenal man saying "God exists and he has returned to the France team". Divine intervention or otherwise, Zidane's return to the fold inspired the French to eventually top their qualification group and secure their place in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. France had fought its way back from the debacle of the 2002 World Cup and the disappointment of the 2004 Euros. With their talismanic number 10 leading them, Les Blues had their eyes firmly fixed on reclaiming the World Cup. Over in Italy, the run up to the 2006 World Cup was overshadowed by the Calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football. Italian Giants Juventus and AC Milan were implicated in the scandal that involved interfering and manipulation of refereeing assignments.
Juventus was stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Scudetto titles and were relegated to Seri B.This was a seismic event for the nation. The Azzuri had topped their qualifying group, losing only one game, but the scandal engulfing Italian football would surely derail any hopes they had of World Cup glory. Despite the scandal, Italy's squad was full of experience and winners. A watertight defence, comprising of probably the best defenders in the world at the time, Gigi Buffon in goal, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta in the heart of that defence. Gignaro Gattuso, the destroyer charged with protecting the team's conductor, Andrea Piro. With Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Filippo Insaghi spearheading a lethal attacking line-up. Italy were grouped with the United States, the Czech Republic and Ghana.
Notoriously slow starters, the Italians brushed aside the Ghanians with a 2-0 win, Andrea Piro underlying his enduring class, scoring Italy's first goal at the competition. A 1-1 against the United States was followed by a more routine 2-0 win over the Czech Republic. The win, however, came at a cost, elegant centre-back Alessandro Nesta was forced off with injury. He would play no further part in the tournament. In his place, stepped Marco Matterazzi, a sliding doors moment if ever there was one.
The Italians continued to build momentum through the knockout stages, dispatching Australia and the Ukraine before setting up a semi-final clash with hosts Germany, a repeat of the 1982 World Cup final. What followed was one of those intoxicating World Cup games where on display for the full 90 minutes and more is the reason why this game exists, why this game moves nations, and why it's called the beautiful game.
Italy had defied the odds, defied the scandal surrounding them, and promptly did an Italian job on the hosts, with Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero scoring to help the Azzuri reach their sixth World Cup final. Fabio Grosso's reaction to scoring, reminiscent of that iconic goal celebration by Marco Tardelli in the 1982 final. Meanwhile, the French team arrived at the 2006 World Cup, determined to reclaim their crown. They were drawn in Group G alongside Switzerland, South Korea and Togo. The French were unconvincing in their two opening games, drawing against Switzerland and South Korea. A 2-0 win over Togo in the final group game saw the French through to the knockout stages.
The knockout stages would provide a much stiffer test for the French team, but Spain, Brazil, and Portugal were all dispatched on their way to the final. For the French, a chance to reverse their spectacular fall from grace after World Cup and Euro glory. For the Italians, the chance for redemption amidst a national scandal. For Zinedine Zidane, a final curtain call. Destiny...and Marco Matarazzi awaited.
On the 9th of July 2006, Italy and France readied themselves for the game of their lives at the Olympia Stadion in Berlin. France were looking to become World Champions for the second time, the Italians for a fourth. Both teams were packed with stars. Names now entered into the pantheon of footballing greats. Zidane, Henry, Vieira, Tuhram on the French side, Totti, Del Piero, Buffon, Canavaro just to name a few on the Italian side.
The game kicked off. Zedan immediately makes an impact with his first touch, the ball caressed with the outside of his foot to striker Thierry Henry. If Zidane was signaling his intent, so too did the Italians. Fabio Cannavaro smashes into Henry knocking him out cold. The Frenchman needing smelling sorts to return to his senses. Gianluca Zambrotta is booked inside five minutes for a challenge on Patrick Vieira. The Italians mean business, but it's the French that strike first. The main protagonists of this story are both involved. Florence Maluda goes down somewhat easily in the penalty area after a challenge by Marco Matarazzi. Video replays show that Matarazzi pulls out of the challenge, but Argentine referee, Horatio Elizondo, pointed to the spot immediately. Matarazzi the villain. Up steps the hero of this story, Zinedine Zidane, his last game in a glittering career. Zidane had been in imperious form throughout the World Cup, and destiny it seemed had written for the elegant Frenchman, a fitting farewell. Standing in his way was the best goalkeeper in the world, and one of the best of all time, Gianluigi Buffon. The Juventus man had only conceded one goal on route to the final, and that goal was an own goal. Zidane stepped up and did what only Zidane would attempt. A penenka-style penalty. The ball almost seemed to hover in slow motion as it spun toward goal. It hits the underside of the crossbar and over the line. France are one-nil up after just seven minutes. It was an audacious penalty, one that almost went wrong. It was perhaps a portent of things to come for the French captain.
It was now time for the villain to turn hero.
The Italians win a corner in the 19th minute. Andrea Pirolo arches in a corner kick, which is met by Marco Matarazzi, like a sledgehammer, to level the scores at 1-1. Immediate redemption for the big Italian. His story was not over. The game was locked at 1-1 and entered into extra time. Once again, it was the two protagonists of this story that took centre stage. In the 104th minute, Willy Sanniel fires in a cross from the right wing. It's met by Zidane, who meets the cross with a thunderous header. It should be the winner. But in goal, Buffon somehow manages to tip the header over the bar. As the game heads towards penalties, Zinedine Zidane and Marco Matarazzi are involved in an exchange of words. The TV cameras are now following play as Italy moved forward into the French half, only for the game to be stopped. Marco Matarazzi is lying on the floor, clutching his chest."And the attention is on Zinedine Zidane now. What happened here?” "Oh goodness me, goodness me!” Zinedine Zidane just plants one into the chest of Marco Matarazzi. The referee cannot have seen that."
Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest players to have ever graced a football pitch, the French captain, their talisman, had headbutted Italy's Marco Matarazzi in the chest. The referee was completely oblivious to what had happened and was in fact in the opposite half of the pitch, with his back to the incident. Italian keeper Buffon was remonstrating furiously with the referee's assistant.The referee is alerted to the touch line by the fourth official, Louise Medina Cantileo. After a brief consultation, referee Elizondo immediately walks up to the French captain and branches the red card that effectively ends the playing career of Zinedine Zidane. "And the red card is out and Zinedine Zidane's career is ending like this. Sent off in the World Cup final!"
In this post-VAR age of football, the question over Zidane's red card does not arise. He headbutted Matarazzi in the chest. It's a clear red card, but in that 2006 World Cup final, VAR had not yet been introduced. The on-field referee had his back to the incident, and none of the referee's assistance had witnessed Zidane's attack. Attention then turned to the fourth official, and it's here that the decision to send the French captain off is mired in controversy. French manager Raymond Dominic says he saw the fourth official shrug his shoulders to suggest he hadn't seen the incident. However, what Dominic is adamant about is that the fourth official only approached the match referee after he'd seen the video footage of the incident. Interestingly, Italian manager Marcelo Lippi was also adamant that the officials had used video evidence toalert the match referee of the incident. "You realise it was not Matarazzi who got the attention of the referee," said Lippi. "It was the fourth official and fifth official looking at the video at the edge of the pitch. We did not do anything. They saw it, and they called the attention of the referee.”
The FIFA official, Alain Leblanc, in the immediate aftermath of the final, refused to confirm or deny Lippi's and Dominic's claims about official interference. I haven't yet spoken to the referee, so I don't know," he said, "but anything is possible.” FIFA protocols at the time strictly prohibited any use of video evidence by match officials. The timeline of events appears to support Raymond Dominic's view that the fourth official used video footage that he then relayed to the referee. Referee Elizondo stops the game some 25 seconds after the incident took place. By the time the referee had approached his fourth official, some one minute 45 seconds had elapsed. If the fourth official had seen the incident, why did he not flag down the referee immediately?
In a recent TED talk, referee Elizondo relates the incident saying that the fourth official had said to him, “Dreadful! Zidane's headbutt on Matarazzi was dreadful! Zedan headbutted Matarazzi! When you see the video, you will not believe me!” The use of the word "video" in that alleged statement has taken on huge significance. Zidane played his last game as a professional footballer at that final. The image of a dejected Zidane walking past the gleaming World Cup trophy has become an iconic image in the history of the sport.
Zidane was a generational talent and takes his place amongst the sports pantheons of greats, Pele, Cruyf, Maradona...and much like the little Argentine was prone to moments of madness. The price of genius perhaps. The controversy surrounding the Zidane incident was an interesting development for FIFA. Past controversies surrounded on-field incidents that match officials had got horribly wrong, despite television audiences having access to footage of those incidents. The 2006 World Cup Final represented a watershed moment for FIFA and for the use of video technology in football. The match referee, much like referees before him, involved in World Cup controversy, had not seen Zidane's offence.
Instead, it would appear that video footage of the incident was used by the fourth official to alert the referee. Ultimately, the officials arrived at the right decision, but it would appear that, despite FIFA's denials, they may have broken their own rules in order to arrive at it. Despite the pressure that FIFA had found itself under in the immediate aftermath of the final, football's governing body stuck to its guns in its determination that football should be played with the same rules at every level of the game, from grassroots to the very top of the professional game. The act of a Frenchman on the biggest stage in World Football would raise further questions on FIFA's stance regarding video technology. And three years later, it would be another Frenchman whose actions would once again reignite the debate over video technology in football.