Headbutted Materazzi pleads innocent
ROME: Inter Milan's Marco Materazzi claims he did not provoke Gennaro Delvecchio before being headbutted by the Sampdoria midfielder in Sunday's fractious Serie A match.
Inter maintained their 11-point lead at the top of the table and extended their record run of consecutive league wins to 14 matches with a 2-0 victory.
But the game swung heavily in Inter's favour in the seventh minute when Delvecchio was sent off for headbutting Materazzi squarely on the chin.
Materazzi was the man infamously butted in the chest by Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final last year, but on that occassion he admitted to winding up the French superstar.
This time, however, Materazzi inisisted he did nothing wrong.
"My reaction was instinctive and all I wanted to do was protect my keeper," said the 33-year-old.
"I went over to say to him 'What do you think you're doing'?. He then pushed me and I didn't go down. Then he headbutted me and I fell to the ground. He hurt my lip.
"I admit it when I make a mistake, but on this occasion I didn't do anything wrong."
AFP
(China Daily 01/30/2007 page24)
