Fifa have opened disciplinary proceedings against Italy defender Marco Materazzi over his involvement in Zinedine Zidane's dismissal in Sunday's World Cup final.

France legend Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi during extra time of Italy's penalty shoot-out win over Les Bleus in Berlin on Sunday.

Zidane broke his silence over the events which led up to his attack on Materazzi on Wednesday and stated that the towering Italian defender insulted both his sister and mother.

Fifa are already set to speak to Zidane about his conduct and Materazzi will also have to answer questions over his part in the unsavoury incident.

Materazzi has denied insulting Zidane's mother, but will have to explain himself to a Fifa delegation at a date to be announced.

"As part of the process, Zinedine Zidane will be given the right to be heard by means of a written statement, which must be submitted by 18 July," read a Fifa statement.

"Materazzi will subsequently be sent a copy of the statement so that he can respond to it.

"Both players have been summoned to attend a face-to-face hearing before the disciplinary committee at Fifa headquarters in Zurich on Thursday, 20 July."

Marco Materazzi's agent, Vincenzo Morabito, hopes for a quick resolution to Fifa's disciplinary proceedings against Zinedine Zidane's World Cup final adversary.

Fifa revealed on Thursday they were to investigate the incident in which the Italy defender is claimed to have insulted Zidane's family, to which the now former French international responded with a headbutt.

The indiscretion led to Zidane receiving his marching orders in what was his last professional match and the high-profile exchange has been a hot topic of conversation ever since.

Morabito revealed his client has already apologised to Zidane and could not understand the furore over the incident.

"He wants to answer Fifa's questions and that's it," Morabito told Sky Sports News.

"I just think that it has been exaggerated - the most important thing that happened that night was the reaction of Zidane.

"I love Zidane as a player and I have heard good things about him as a person and I don't understand his reaction - on the pitch there are a lot of things like that, that happen between players.

"It's bad that he ended his career in that way.

"Marco should enjoy the World Cup so it's just a pity there is so much talk about this.

"Hopefully after tomorrow he can relax and then go on holiday so he can forget that and enjoy the World Cup win."

Morabito revealed Materazzi feels sadness over the incident but insists it has been blown out of all proportion.

"I don't think he's upset or angry, I think he's annoyed and he's very sad because there has been a lot said about what he said and didn't say and it's not right," Moribito added.

"What he said is one of the most common things said on a pitch and the reaction was exaggerated.

"Marco has apologised already to Zidane and that should be the end of it.

"The only thing people can talk about at the moment is what Materazzi said to Zidane and I think it's too much.

"Hopefully after tomorrow in Zurich with Fifa, people can forget about it."

Breaking news!
Roberto Donadoni is our new coach.

Donadoni Is New Italy Coach

no wonder his name sounds so familiar. rupa2nye he played in AC before. 

1 of the 1994 wc squad if i not mistaken 

"Everything went fine" for Italy's World Cup-winner Marco Materazzi at his meeting with FIFA officials, according to the player's agent.

World football's governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against Materazzi on Thursday in an attempt to discover what he said to Zinedine Zidane moments before the Frenchman head-butted him in the Germany 2006 final.

Zidane was sent off for the incident in extra-time, and Italy won the match on penalties.

Materazzi, who was accompanied by his lawyer and Italian Football Federation external relations executive Sergio Di Cesare, was quizzed for an hour and a half on Friday morning in FIFA's Zurich headquarters.

"Marco was optimistic after the meeting," said the player's agent, Claudio Vigorelli.

"Everything went fine. He gave his version of what happened.

"He will not have to return to Zurich at a later stage."

Materazzi brought the meeting forward from July 20 due to his holidays, and Vigorelli confirmed: "Marco will fly on Sunday to the Maldives.

He then joked: "Do you know where Zidane will spend his holidays? It's just that the Maldives are small islands..."

ei, the scandal case how ar?? decision out yet??

Materazzi brought the meeting forward from July 20 due to his holidays, and Vigorelli confirmed: "Marco will fly on Sunday to the Maldives.

He then joked: "Do you know where Zidane will spend his holidays? It's just that the Maldives are small islands..."

Juventus, Lazio, and Fiorentina have been relegated from Serie A as a result of the match-fixing scandal but AC Milan have survived.

Milan avoided the drop, but will start next season with a 15-point deficit, and have had 44 points taken from their tally for the 2005-06 season.

Juventus have been stripped of their Serie A titles for each of the last two seasons. They will start next campaign with a 30-point deficit.

Fiorentina will start in Serie B with a 12-point deficit and Lazio a seven-point deficit.

The rulings mean that none of the four clubs will be allowed to play in Europe next season.

In addition to the punishments handed to the clubs, a number of the individual directors were suspended.

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi has been suspended from all football for five years.

Adriano Galliani, who was AC Milan vice-president, has been suspended for one year.

The four clubs will have up to three days to appeal to the Federal Court but a final verdict has to be announced before July 25, when the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) must give UEFA, Europe's football governing body, the list of teams that will compete in the continental club competitions in the 2006/07 campaign.

The scandal was uncovered as a result of a criminal investigation that was launched before the start of the 2004/05 campaign by the Naples prosecutors' office.

Telephone conversations between Moggi and a referees supremo in charge of the appointments of officials during the 2004/05 season were tapped.

Prosecutors based their probe on hundreds of bugged telephone calls between referee selectors, game officials and Moggi.

At the close of trading on Milan's stock exchange on Friday, Lazio shares had dropped 9.68% to 0.28 euros while Juventus went down to 1.45 euros - a fall of 1.15%.

An estimated 500 Lazio fans protested outside Rome's Parco dei Principi hotel as Federal Appeal Commission president Cesare Ruperto read out the verdicts inside.

More than 300 Fiorentina fans met up outside the Artemio Franchi stadium as a sign of protest but it was a different story in Turin with few Juventus supporters turning up at the club's headquarters in Via Galileo Ferraris.

Several Juventus stars now look certain to be up for grabs - including the likes of Patrick Vieira, Gianluga Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Pavel Nedved, Lilian Thuram and David Trezeguet, while Fiorentina's Luca Toni could also be on his way.

The Premiership's big guns will certainly be hovering, while new Real Madrid chief Fabio Capello will be looking to snap up some of his former Juve stars.

Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli has announced his club will appeal against the punishment handed out after the match-fixing verdicts.

The Italian Federal Appeal Commission found Juve, Lazio, Fiorentina and AC Milan guilty of match-fixing with the Turin side hit hardest by the verdict.

Juve have been relegated to Serie B and will start next season with a 30-point deficit, as well as being stripped of the league titles they won in the past two seasons.

Fiorentina and Lazio were also relegated and will start the campaign with 12 and seven-point deficits respectively, while AC Milan retain their Serie A status but will start next season with a 15-point deficit.

Milan have also been docked 44 points from their tally last season.

However, Cobolli Gigli has reacted angrily to the news and vowed to fight the punishment.

"This verdict is unheard of," he said.

"We expected a balanced sentence not only in form but in substance, our expectations were different ones.

"We could have expected relegation to the second division but to be also handed a 30- point deduction is almost like relegation to the third division.

"We will appeal."

Fiorentina also immediately announced their intentions to appeal against the punishment.

"Fiorentina take note of the verdict given by the Federal Appeal Commission but retains it profoundly unjust," said a statement on the club's official website, www.acffiorentina.it.

"Fiorentina wishes to reiterate the absolute correctness of the club and of their own executives.

"Fiorentina will fight with every means possible so that the truth of the facts are revealed."

Milan managed to avoid the drop to Serie B but were also unhappy with the verdict, which means they will not be able to play in the Champions League next season.

"AC Milan retains the decision by the CAF of extraordinary injustice," said a statement on www.acmilan.com.

"We will appeal once the documents of the verdict will be available, with the certainty that the procedure will be radically modified by appeal."

Former Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani was one of several individuals also punished as a result of the investigation.

Galliani was handed a one-year suspension from all football activities while Lazio president Claudio Lotito was banned for three years and his Fiorentina counterpart, Andrea Della Valle, was given a four-year punishment.

Former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi, who was at the centre of the investigation after his telephone conversations with a referee supremo in charge of the appointments of officials during the 2004/05 season were tapped, was suspended for five years.

"I'm not saddened for myself but for the teams involved and for their fans," said Moggi.

Referee Massimo De Santis, who had been due to officiate at the World Cup before becoming embroiled in the investigation, has been suspended from football for four and a half years and former FIGC president Franco Carraro was also handed a four-year suspension.

The decision to strip Juve of their title means the Turin club will not be allowed to play in the Champions League next season, while Lazio are also barred from taking part in the UEFA Cup.

Lotito was fuming following the verdict.

"I think this sentence is provisional as it's based on a theorem which is completely ridiculous," he said.

"I will not make any decisions until a final sentence is given."

Subject to any appeals, the rulings mean that Inter Milan and Roma will gain automatic qualification to the Champions League, with Chievo and Palermo going into the qualifiers for the tournament.

Livorno, Parma and Empoli will be entered into the UEFA Cup.

In addition, Lecce, Messina, and Treviso will avoid relegation to Serie B and keep their places in the top flight as a result of the verdict.

may i know why ac milan got away while all the other 3 are relegated? the papers did not explain much in detail in what the club does...

i look at the juventus squad...and all players seem like quite old already...hmmm no future-proof players to buy from there...

Canna is better the anyone
Buffon, nothing to say..
Zambrotta, awesome.. can play on both side..

maybe not future-proof, but they can guarantee a really strong defense.

may i know why ac milan got away while all the other 3 are relegated? the papers did not explain much in detail in what the club does...