Marco Materazzi admitted that "I mentioned his sister, but not his mother," on the 10th anniversary of Zinedine Zidane's famous head-butt to the former Inter Milan star at the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy.
Italy beat France 5-3 in a penalty shootout after an absorbing 1-1 draw in Berlin. The France captain and current head coach at Real Madrid was sent off for turning and butting the scorer of Italy's goal in the chest.
Now, 10 years later, The Italian central defender told L'Équipe that the incident changed his life forever and has detailed the incident at the Olympiastadion in a new autobiography:
"I decided to write a book about it because everyone kept asking me what I said to Zidane to get such a reaction," he said. "What I said was really stupid, but my words didn't warrant such a reaction. In any neighbourhood -- in Rome, Naples, Turin, Milan or Paris, you hear far worse things...."
While many speculated about the provocation at the time, Materazzi now insists: "What I said was in reference to his sister, not his mother, like I have read in some newspapers. My mother died when I was a teenager, when I was 15, so I would never have stooped as low as to insult his mother.
"I have never understood why that incident reached such levels of notoriety. The only thing I want to remember from that day were my goals," he said. "Sometimes, in Italy, I meet fans on the street and they say to me: 'Marco, you did well giving him that headbutt!'
"And it makes me angry because... I was the one who was on the receiving end! But it shows just how strange it is that the story has been told and altered. It's no big deal, I don't resent it, and I never will."