Zidane happy that he was sent off

FORMER FRENCH midfielder Zinedine Zidane is glad he was sent-off for his head-butt in the 2006 World Cup final because he has not had to live with regret over escaping punishment.

Zidane has also said he is certain Thierry Henry “is not proud of his gesture”, referring to the handball against the Republic of Ireland in the World Cup play-off last November.

Zidane received a red card for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, the last match of his career, which Italy won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

“It (the sending off) was a very good thing,” the former Real Madrid and Juventus playmaker told France Football magazine in an interview released yesterday. “It’s good that (Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi) Buffon signalled what I had done to the referee because it was not pretty. I don’t know how I could have lived with it had France become world champions and I had stayed on the pitch.”

Zidane, who won the World Cup in 1998, thought there had been an overreaction to Henry’s handball that led to France beating Ireland to reach the World Cup finals.

“Many people outside football got involved, people who love you when you lift trophies and let you down when things go wrong. I’m certain Henry is not proud of his gesture.”

As French football authorities consider employing a general manager and a director of sport to work alongside under-fire coach Raymond Domenech at the helm of the French national team, Zidane has joined the growing list of critics of the France side.

He admits he is baffled by France being so mediocre considering the wealth of talent at their disposal. “This team is definitely open to criticism, although I prefer to look at the positives,” Zidane said in his interview with the magazine.

“It’s hard to see them playing like this while there are good players there. It’s not nice to see them go out there with a lot of difficulty each time. Their qualifying group was well within their range, as well as the play-offs, but well . . .

“Considering the value of certain France players, I am just disappointed to see them play like this.”