Marco denies abuse

Marco Materazzi of world champions Italy has denied seriously abusing Zinedine Zidane, prior to the France captain being sent off in the World Cup final for headbutting the Italy defender.

Materazzi has faced allegations of abusing Zidane's mother and his Algerian heritage - but the Azzurri stopper has denied such suggestions.

He told reporters: "It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist.

"I'm ignorant. I don't even know what the word means."

Materazzi's agent, Claudio Vigorelli, also spoke up for his client, adding: "I spoke to Marco briefly after the game. He was extremely happy but he did not mention the incident.

"I've known Marco for a long time and I don't think he is capable of provoking a player, he is a good boy."

Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon pointed to Zidane having lost his cool at other times in his career, commenting: "I saw the incident afterwards on TV.

"It was a ugly reaction, but in football sometimes these things can happen. However, this is not the first time Zidane has done something like this."