"I want to be open and honest about it because it was seen by two or three billion people watching on television and millions and millions of children were watching. You hear those things once and you try to walk away. That's what I wanted to do because I am retiring. You hear it a second time and then a third time . . . I am a man first and foremost. I would rather have it right at the jaw then have heard those harsh words. I can't say I have any regrets about what I did because that would be like admitting that he had every reason to say what he said."

" I can't, repeat can't say that. He had no reason to say what he said. It's always the reaction that is sanctioned and not the provoker. I told him to stop pulling my shirt and that he could have it if he wanted at the end of the match. That was when words were said, very hard words, and he said them several times. Words can sometimes be harder than actions. It all went very quickly and they were words that hurt me deep down. The real culprit should be sanctioned and the real culprit is him. He provoked it all. "

"Do you imagine that in a World Cup final like that with just 10 minutes to go to the end of my career, I am going to do something like that because it gives me pleasure?"

-Zinedine Zidane