ZINEDINE ZIDANE will do three days community service for the headbutt that was seen by two billion football fans
That is Sepp Blatter's punishment : work for me for three days, promoting football with kids.
Zizou has not been stripped of his Golden Ball for Best Player of the World Cup but he's been banned for three games if he ever comes out of retirement
What a ridiculous verdict !
But if FIFA produced a verdict that was NOT ridiculous, we would be disappointed. Ridiculous is their modus operandi, their code, their norm.
Clearly, with such a soft verdict, Blatter accepts that superstars are bigger than the rules. When the lawmakers don't punish lawbreakers because of who they are, it's a charter for anarchy.
Two years ago, in Portugal, Danish defender Christian Poulson verbally abused Totti, who spat on him and was banned for four games. Poulson was not punished for sledging.
But now Marco Materazzi has been banned from Italy's next two games.
Zidane was fined £3,260 and Materazzi £2,170.
IT HAS BEEN CLEAR for years that Sepp Blatter should have been in politics or showbiz, where there are no moral absolutes, no right and wrong.
He should not have been in sport. And he should never have been allowed near football, the only sport that matters.
Wouldn't it be great to have a World Cup without FIFA?