Hard to prove case against Materazzi, says lawyer

MARCO MATERAZZI will have “strong grounds” for appeal if FIFA punish him for provoking Zinedine Zidane’s infamous World Cup final headbutt based on the France captain’s testimony alone.

That is the view of leading sports lawyer Mel Goldberg, who believes the sport’s world governing body will have difficulty proving a case of serious provocation against the Italy defender unless other players come forward or the video evidence is conclusively lip-read.

Goldberg said: “It is one man’s word against another. No-one will know who is telling the truth.