The Zidane Incident

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Great article from Dr. Z on the head-butt. Sorry, my teaser is a little long here:

Maybe Strahan doesn't get booted from the game for a helmet-to-helmet head butt, but he would if he spat on his opponent. Zidane's headbutt is like Taylor's spit.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

Maybe Strahan doesn't get booted from the game for a helmet-to-helmet head butt, but he would if he spat on his opponent. Zidane's headbutt is like Taylor's spit.

He would also get thrown out if he threw a punch. I don't care if you think that the italian guy flopped or over-reacted, that headbutt would hurt like hell.

I said before, Zidane obviously knows how to use his head to his advantage from years of playing soccer.
Also, the italian was running into it, which probably increased the force of the impact.
And, third, Zidane actually could have literally killed him with that shot. I know it sounds like I'm being dramatic, but it could have stopped his heart. A year or two ago the captain for Cornell's Lax team was killed when he took a ball to the chest because it caused his heart to stop. Likewise, I remember reading a few years ago that some drunk friends were trying to see who could withstand the hardest punch to the chest. One of them died when his sternum cracked and stopped his heart.

I just feel like the more I see that hit the worse it gets.

soccer is still pretty boring though

[Schneed10]

I said before, Zidane obviously knows how to use his head to his advantage from years of playing soccer.
Also, the italian was running into it, which probably increased the force of the impact.
And, third, Zidane actually could have literally killed him with that shot. I know it sounds like I'm being dramatic, but it could have stopped his heart. A year or two ago the captain for Cornell's Lax team was killed when he took a ball to the chest because it caused his heart to stop. Likewise, I remember reading a few years ago that some drunk friends were trying to see who could withstand the hardest punch to the chest. One of them died when his sternum cracked and stopped his heart.

I just feel like the more I see that hit the worse it gets.

soccer is still pretty boring though[/quote]

That's definitely pretty dramatic. You know the odds on that happening? That's like me dressing in rubber clothing everytime I go out in a thunderstorm for fear of getting hit by lightning.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

That's definitely pretty dramatic. You know the odds on that happening? That's like me dressing in rubber clothing everytime I go out in a thunderstorm for fear of getting hit by lightning.

Maybe saying he could have killed him is going a bit overboard, but he definitely could have cracked his sternum. I knew a kid in high school that cracked his own sternum during a wrestling match on a simple take down. If you hit it right it's going to crack, and that headbutt realy could have done some damage.

Plus, I feel like that incident was seperate from all the obvious flopping that goes on in soccer. No matter how you look at it, Zidane blatantly broke the rules and he had to face the consequences for that. Also, the ref has to kick a player out for an action like that in order to maintain order in the game. If Zidane had been allowed to stay in I'd be willing to bet a ton that a fight would have quickly broken out.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Maybe saying he could have killed him is going a bit overboard, but he definitely could have cracked his sternum. I knew a kid in high school that cracked his own sternum during a wrestling match on a simple take down. If you hit it right it's going to crack, and that headbutt realy could have done some damage.

Plus, I feel like that incident was seperate from all the obvious flopping that goes on in soccer. No matter how you look at it, Zidane blatantly broke the rules and he had to face the consequences for that. Also, the ref has to kick a player out for an action like that in order to maintain order in the game. If Zidane had been allowed to stay in I'd be willing to bet a ton that a fight would have quickly broken out.

You're right. I agree that specific incident merited an ejection. It was a blatant attack on a player. A physical attack like that is worse than spitting and deserves an ejection.

I guess I just take issue with the rule in general. It's set up to encourage instigation of this type of response. I think Soccer should do it like either Football or Hockey. If you're going to eject a player for something like this, let the team replace him, don't give a man-advantage for the rest of the game. Or at least have a penaty box where you have the man-advantage for only 5 or 10 minutes.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

Maybe Strahan doesn't get booted from the game for a helmet-to-helmet head butt, but he would if he spat on his opponent. Zidane's headbutt is like Taylor's spit.

Yeah, and I'm on record saying Taylor shouldn't have been ejected for that. But I'm not going to go there again.

There is a difference though. When Taylor was sent out, we could replace him with Prioleau. When Zidane went out, Italy got a one-man advantage FOR THE REST OF THE GAME. It has too great an affect on the outcome.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Yeah, and I'm on record saying Taylor shouldn't have been ejected for that. But I'm not going to go there again.

There is a difference though. When Taylor was sent out, we could replace him with Prioleau. When Zidane went out, Italy got a one-man advantage FOR THE REST OF THE GAME. It has too great an affect on the outcome.

That's all the more reason that Zidane should have been smarter about the whole thing.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

That's all the more reason that Zidane should have been smarter about the whole thing.

Oh yeah, no doubt. He should know the rules and he's a moron. I can't fault the Italian for trying to instigate. And Zidane should know that a red-card would basically end his chances at winning. He knows the rules and he should play by them.

But I hate that rule. It's ridiculous. One act and you're gone for the whole game, man-advantage for the other team. That's not soccer, it becomes a game of who can piss the other players off to the point where they lash out. Pretty lame.