To be sent off during a World Cup is often a memorable moment. But perhaps the most memorable red card in World Cup history belongs to one of the only players to be sent off two different times: legendary French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
It was deep in extra time at the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy, with the two teams were locked in a 1-1 draw. And in the 110th minute, Zidane turned around and headbutted Italian center back Marco Materazzi square in the chest.
Zidane and Materazzi had been locked all game long in the center of the field, and were both central to the game’s outcome. Zidane had scored first for France early in the game, sinking a cheeky penalty kick in the seventh minute, while Materazzi, a notoriously aggressive player, had scored the equalizing goal with his head 12 minutes later.
The two were jawing shortly before Zidane wound up for the headbutt. And with Materazzi on the ground, Zidane was shown a straight red card and sent off, leaving his team with 10 men for the rest of the game. Italy went on to win 5-3 in penalty kicks, earning its fourth World Cup championship.
The fateful decision would prove to be Zidane’s last in professional soccer. Ahead of the 2005-06 season, Zidane had already announced that he would be retiring at the end of the year. And after the World Cup, Zidane confirmed that the shootout loss would be his final game.
In 2016, Materazzi later confirmed that he had made a comment about Zidane’s sister prior to the headbutt. At the time, reports had indicated that Materazzi had insulted Zidane’s mother, but the Italian defender later said that wasn’t true.
Years after the incident, Zidane would stand by what he did, saying that he “would rather die” than apologize to Materazzi.
Zidane will always be known for his looming presence in French soccer, building up 108 caps and scoring 31 for his country. He is even reportedly set to join Les Bleus as their head coach after the World Cup, ushering the men’s national team into the next era. But his legacy will always have a postscript: that his career ended with a headbutt that immediately went down in history.
