​Horacio Elizondo, the referee of the 2006 World Cup Final, has revealed that Zinedine Zidane reassured him the red card shown to him was correct, but also challenged him with a question: Didn’t you see what happened before? July 9, 2026, marked the 20th anniversary of Italy’s World Cup triumph, a celebration that still resonates in football history. The Azzurri defeated France in a dramatic penalty shootout after Zidane was sent off just ten minutes before the shootout for headbutting Marco Materazzi. Elizondo, the Argentine official in charge of that match, recalled the sequence of events that led to the decision and what Zidane said to him before leaving the pitch. That moment also marks Zidane’s final appearance as a professional footballer, adding a legendary layer to the controversy surrounding the red card.
“I saw Materazzi didn’t get up, so I stopped play and started running toward him,” Elizondo explained to Gazzetta. “While I was running, I asked my first assistant what had happened. He said, I didn’t see anything. The same for the second assistant. We had no idea what had occurred.” Then the fourth official, Medina Cantalejo, informed him that Zidane had headbutted Materazzi. In that moment, Elizondo thought, These officials didn’t see a thing; the crowd didn’t see anything either, and from TV, I couldn’t tell what had happened. The fourth official called for a red card, but Elizondo felt the need to act in a way that would help the world understand the decision he was about to make. He explained that he wanted to ensure his actions were clear to everyone, not just to those in the stadium or watching on television, so he sought to convey that a difficult call was being made for the integrity of the game.
To avoid confusion among the crowd, Elizondo admitted he contorted his approach, attempting to dramatize the moment in order to help spectators grasp the gravity of the decision. He said he began a pretense of conferring with an assistant, as if to extract additional information from him, and even whispered, Ten minutes to go, stay focused, in order to signal that a deliberate, careful process was underway. Only after that act did he turn back and issue the red card to Zidane. When Zidane approached him, Elizondo observed his reaction closely: Zidane reached for his captain’s armband and began to remove it, signaling a possible attempt at composure. Elizondo thought, It’s over, and started to relax a little.
Before he could complete the formalities, Zidane touched Elizondo’s shoulder and commented, Calm, the red card is correct, but didn’t you hear or see what happened before? Elizondo responded with, No, what happened? Zidane then turned away and exited the field, leaving behind a moment that would become a defining image in World Cup history. The referee’s account underscores both the complexity of officiating in such a moment and Zidane’s insistence on a broader context to the incident that led to the sending-off.
The 2006 final, held at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, remains a watershed game in which Italy and France faced off for football’s most coveted prize. The match’s pivotal moment—the red card to Zidane—continues to be debated by fans, analysts, and participants alike. In a broader sense, Italy’s triumph on penalties after a tense 1–1 draw left a lasting impression of the Azzurri’s resilience and grit, and Zidane’s famous exit amid controversy only added to the final’s enduring legend. Italy, for its part, has experienced a challenging stretch in World Cup knockout rounds in the following years, failing to advance past the group stage in 2010 and 2014 and missing qualification entirely in 2018, 2022, and 2026. While the nation’s post-2006 World Cup journey has included both highs and lows, the 2006 final remains a focal point for discussions of officiating, leadership, and the emotional weight of football’s biggest stage.