Zidane to speak on head-butt shame

Zinedine Zidane is expected to speak publicly for the first time tonight on his controversial sending-off in the World Cup final.

The Frenchman has so far not commented on the red card he received for head-butting Italy’s Marco Materazzi in extra time in Berlin on Sunday.

The 34-year-old will appear on French TV station Canal Plus at around 7pm this evening when he is likely to give his opinions on the incident, into which FIFA have launched an investigation.

The sending-off, despite Italy's subsequent victory on penalties, has been the main talking point of the final.

Having retired after the match, Zidane, 34, may feel uninhibited by FIFA’s investigation and free to speak out.

Theories have abounded over what defender Materazzi might have said to provoke such a furious reaction from Zidane.

The former Everton defender has conceded he made an offensive remark but Zidane is yet to give his version of events, although his agent has admitted the reaction was due to a “serious comment”.

Materazzi had been expected to make a statement on the matter today, but that was before FIFA announced they would be looking into the incident. FIFA have given no indication as to how long their investigation will last.