FIFA said on Thursday that it has opened disciplinary proceedings against Marco Materazzi for his conduct in  World Cup final and  had summoned Zinedine Zidane and the Italy defender to attend a hearing of its disciplinary committee July 20. A decision is expected later that day.

Zidane said in an interview with TF1 television Wednesday that his actions in the World Cup final were in response to repeated harsh insults from Materazzi about his mother and sister, but did not go into specifics.

Materazzi's agent Claudio Vigorelli told BBC Sport that Fifa should only proceed against the reaction of Zidane.

"We love football and players like Zidane but his reaction was absolutely out of order especially in a big game like the final because it was his last game as a football player," he said.

FIFA said in a statement that it was calling the committee to hear the players' comments after claims made by Zidane, but declined to comment on possible punishments for either individuals or teams.

"Zinedine Zidane will be given the right to be heard by means of a written statement, which must be submitted by July 18," a Fifa statement said. "Materazzi will subsequently be sent a copy of the statement so he can respond to it. Both players have been summoned to attend a face-to-face hearing."
 
(Xinhua News Agency via Agencies July 14, 2006)