French midfielder Zinedine Zidane
The most enduring image of the 2006 World Cup might be the disgraceful end to the glorious career of French star Zinedine Zidane. After head-butting Italian Marco Materazzi during extra time of the final (allegedly, Materazzi insulted Zidane, whose parents are Algerian, by calling him a terrorist), Zidane was shown the red card and expelled from the game, which France ultimately lost on penalty kicks.
While the 2010 tournament will (hopefully) not be defined by a similarly ignominious moment, the opening round has produced a total of six straight red cards. Do any of them stack up to Zidane’s in terms of sheer needlessness? Were they deserved? And how did the teammates of those sent-off players react to their expulsions?
First up: Itumeleng Khune, South Africa
