Oh Zizou, why?
I don't care what Materazzi said or did - it's not excusable to headbutt his chest, knocking him off his feet. Although it was rather amusing to see. =D
I seriously doubt the AR saw the play directly, because it took the center referee a terribly long time before he went over to his assistant to chat about the incident. The AR should have been SCREAMING to his center, waving his flag, using his microphone, doing SOMETHING to get his attention. Maybe the camera coverage was too spotty, but it seemed to me that the center sauntered over to tend to Materazzi (player down, injured), then much later visited with the AR before sending off Zidane. Boo - as I understand it, you should always work to defuse the situation and caution/send off first, to prevent any other incidents. Then tend to the injured.
Also, boo to kicks from the mark (which are not Penalty Kicks, ABC) as the deciding factor. But a team that allows 2 goals all tournament (one was the own-goal vs USA!) deserves quite a bit of credit.
I seriously doubt the AR saw the play directly, because it took the center referee a terribly long time before he went over to his assistant to chat about the incident. The AR should have been SCREAMING to his center, waving his flag, using his microphone, doing SOMETHING to get his attention. Maybe the camera coverage was too spotty, but it seemed to me that the center sauntered over to tend to Materazzi (player down, injured), then much later visited with the AR before sending off Zidane. Boo - as I understand it, you should always work to defuse the situation and caution/send off first, to prevent any other incidents. Then tend to the injured.
Also, boo to kicks from the mark (which are not Penalty Kicks, ABC) as the deciding factor. But a team that allows 2 goals all tournament (one was the own-goal vs USA!) deserves quite a bit of credit.