Zidane says Materazzi insulted mother and sister

Zinedine Zidane said last night that Italian defender Marco Materazzi insulted his mother and his sister during the World Cup final against Italy.

In an interview with French television channel Canal Plus Zidane also said he apologised to children and fans but did not regret the head-butt that led to his sending off.

The French captain reacted to the insult by head-butting Materazzi's chest in the second period of extra time of the match.

"He (Materazzi) pronounced very tough words about my mother and my sister. I tried not to listen to him but he kept repeating them," Zidane said in a live interview.

Playing the last game of his career, Zinedine was shown a red card, leaving his team-mates to finish the match without him. France lost on penalties.

Zidane denied Materazzi called him an Islamic "terrorist", as was reported by a Paris-based anti-racism group.

Zidane is of Algerian origin, his parents being born in the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region.

FIFA decided on Tuesday to open a disciplinary investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and Sepp Blatter, the chairman of the soccer's ruling body, hinted that Zidane could be stripped of the tournament's best player award.

"FIFA's executive committee has the right and duty to intervene when it sees behaviour that is contrary to sports ethics," Blatted said in an interview in Rome's La Repubblica.