Fair play?

Days have elapsed since the World Cup final and the controversy over the head-butt by Zinedine Zidane into Marco Materazzi's chest still goes on unabated, especially now that we know the outcome of Fifa's verdict for the two players involved in the incident.

Football followers especially the Italians were shocked by the discriminatory way Fifa headed by its President Sepp Blatter has treated the whole matter.

It all begun when Mr Blatter, for reasons known to him alone, refused to present the World Cup Trophy to the Italian captain Fabio Carnavaro. This in itself is an insult to all football lovers especially those present at the final match. It has offended the Italian people who are rightly bewildered at this unbecoming behaviour. I think it would be justified for a call to be made by all participating nations for Mr Blatter's resignation or at least demand an apology. The matter is more serious as it comes from a person who all the time calls for fair play in the game.

Then we had the punishment meted out by Fifa to Materazzi for allegedly provoking France's captain Zidane. How Fifa decided to punish Materazzi when he was not even booked by one of the officials is still a mystery. We must remember that video evidence is not accepted yet in the game of football. Provocation, though much regretted, is an ongoing process in the football game and surely does not entitle any player to retaliate with physical violence. This has created a precedent for future games as it entitles any player who feels insulted to react violently. The discrimination by Fifa is more apparent as there is no proportion between the punishments given to Materazzi and Zidane. Fifa's verdict implies a nearly equal crime which was not the case.

Football followers, especially those of the participating clubs, have a duty to know the reason why the President of Fifa refused to be present at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. It is also desirable to know how Fifa came to their verdict. This for the sake of fair play and transparency.