Horacio Elizondo. This name may not mean anything to you and yet … On July 9, 2006, at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, he was the one who whistled for the World Cup final between the French team and the Italy. A match well underway by the Blues with a panenka by Zinedine Zidane from the penalty spot (7th) before the equalization of Marco Materazzi on a corner (13th). With this score of 1-1, both teams are forced to go through overtime. And it was during this one, in the 110th minute, that the Argentinian referee decided to expel “Zizou” for a whim on the Italian defender striker before. The following ? The team led by Raymond Domenech bowed on penalties (3-5).
A painful episode for the supporters of the French team and the French team present that evening in Berlin on the lawn. Almost fourteen years later, Horacio Elizondo agreed to return to this scene for RMC Sport. The latter first admitted that he had seen nothing since he was on the other side of the field: “At no time was I able to see it. The game was in the opposite direction. When the ball came back in the middle of the field, I saw that an unidentified player with a blue jersey (the French were in white, note) was on the ground and he did not get up. So I ran to the action and asked my assistants if they had observed anything special. They both replied that they had seen nothing. “
Referees Didn’t See Idle
So how did the central referee make his decision? As he explained, it was the fourth referee, Mr. Luis Medina Cantalejo, who informed him. “He quickly tells me that Zidane has kicked Materazzi. I ask him how he saw it, whether it was an assault or a head to head. He tells me it’s a terrible whim. Red cardcontinued Elizondo. No, I’ve never seen the video. After the game, I went back to ask him, because people said he could have seen it on a screen. But he kept telling me that he saw him on the ground. “
The 56-year-old referee, who ended his career a few months after the 2006 World Cup final, therefore put his hand in his pocket following the statements by the fourth referee in the headset. Zinedine Zidane, too, hung up his crampons after this international competition and therefore ended his career on a bad note. But Zizou is above all a World Cup in 1998 or a Euro in 2000. And full of high-level matches in the tricolor jersey for the greatest pleasure of lovers of football.
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