The judgement upon him will be harsh if it is alleged by Zidane that he did make a racist remark about the player's parents, who moved from Algeria to settle in La Castellane district of Marseilles.The family of Zidane, an icon for multicultural France, are not Arabs but Berbers from the Kabylie region of Algeria, a people who have been in conflict with the Algerian government. The athlete received death threats before the match, and people in the stands held up signs that said “Zidane-Harki.” (Harki is a term for Algerians who fought with France in the Algerian revolution–an insult that falsely accused Zidane’s father of being a traitor against his home country.) Some leaders of the new Algerian Republic were themselves veterans of the French Army, which had prior to independence provided one of the few avenues for advancement open to the Muslim majority.

They were lightly armed (often only with shotguns), but their knowledge of local terrain and conditions made them valuable auxiliaries to French regular units. In 2001, he was forced to deny publicly that his father was a " harki" ­ the Algerian term for their countrymen who collaborated with the French during the war between those two countries. I don't even know what the word means. Smaïl did not watch the 1998 World Cup final - he was looking after Zidane's son Luca - but he declared himself moderately pleased with the goals that his 'Yazid' had scored. The French government of the time, concerned mainly with disengagement from Algeria and the repatriation of the Pieds-Noirs, disregarded or downplayed news of these killings. {{#replies}} try again, the name must be uniquePlease the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate.

The word sometimes applies to all Algerian Muslims who supported French Algeria during the war. Others were defectors from the FLN rebel forces, who had been persuaded by one means or another to change sides. He was sent off during France's victorious 1998 World Cup campaign for stamping on Faoud Amin of Saudi Arabia.He was known for a shortness of temper at the start of his career in Cannes when he reacted badly to taunts about his race or origins. continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Please There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts According to General R. Hure ("L'Armee d' Afrique 1830-1962"), there were by 1960 approximately 150,000 Muslim Algerians serving in the French Army or as auxiliaries. Zidane describes himself as a " non-practising Muslim". The Italian is alleged to have responded by saying that Zidane could keep it for his sister and then made an extremely derogatory comment about her ­ that version is backed up by lip-readers from the Brazilian TV channel Globo. They claim Materazzi called her a "prostitute".Materazzi attempted to head off any controversy yesterday by releasing an official statement with the blessing of the Italian football federation after he was accused of making the "dirty terrorist" remark by an anti-racism group in Italy. they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The term "harki" continues to be an emotive one in the French-Algerian community; Zinedine Zidane, the captain of the French national football team, was famously described as acceptable by the far right National Front because, allegedly, his father was a Harki. I know Zizou [Zidane] will, in one or two days' time, explain his reaction.

The same young pro-Bin Laden French Arabs displayed banners denouncing Zidane as a "harki" ­ a western-French sympathiser.Yesterday, Zidane's agent, Alain Migliaccio, said the 34-year-old was simply "very sad" about the way his career, in which he was twice voted Fifa world player of the year, had ended.

Algerian Muslim regular soldiers had served in large numbers with the French "Armée d'Afrique" (Tirailleurs from Algeria, Morocco and West Africa fought in With the outbreak of the Algerian War that same year, the loyalty of the Algerian Muslim soldiers to France inevitably came under heavy strain and some of the regular units were transferred from Algeria to France or Germany, following increased incidences of desertion or small-scale mutiny. {{#replies}} From the viewpoint of Algerian nationalists all were traitors. In addition to volunteers and conscripts serving in regular units, this total took into account 95,000 Harkis (including 20,000 in separate "mokhazni" district forces and 15,000 in "commando de chasse" tracking units). It was a recurring claim by the French authorities that more Algerian Muslims were serving with their forces than with those of the nationalist Front de Libération Nationale (FLN).According to US Army data, possibly compiled at a different date, the Harkis numbered about 180,000, more than total FLN effectives The motives of the Harkis were mixed. "He is a human being, not a god. "Yesterday Zidane, 34, who made the most graceless exit imaginable from a glittering career on Sunday night, had lunch with the French President, Jacques Chirac, along with the rest of the France team defeated in the World Cup final in Germany.Zidane will tell a disbelieving French nation over the next week why he bowed out in his last game before retirement in disgrace, only the fourth player to have been sent off in a World Cup final.Materazzi had refused to comment on the incident and left the stadiumwithout uttering a word to reporters. In Italy, Internazionale are mocked as an overspending, poorly run side doomed to failure.