French people remember Zidane for his glory, not head butt: envoy

The 16-foot sculpture, ‘Coup de Tête’ at the Corniche in Doha. PiCTURE: Salman Siddiqui

By Salman Siddiqui/Staff ReporterThe French people keep in memory the legendary football player Zinedine Zidane for the glory he brought for France and not his moment of downfall as encapsulated by a sculpture on Doha Corniche that depicts him as head butting another player, French ambassador Jean-Christophe Peaucelle told Gulf Times.The 16-foot sculpture, “Coup de Tête” [‘Head Butt’ in English] was created by Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed, and captures the moment when the French football player Zidane head-butted Italian player Marco Materazzi at the 2006 World Cup. Zidane, who was playing his last match, was given a red-card and sent off the field. Minutes later, Italy beat France, winning the tournament.Since the sculpture was installed at the Corniche earlier this month, there has been a mixed reaction to the gigantic figures by the sea. While some criticised it in social media forums for allegedly promoting ‘unsportsmanlike’ conduct and somehow hurting religious sentiments, most people, however, continue to support the display of this unique installation. At any time of the day, one can spot a large number of people posing in front of the Zidane sculpture and getting their pictures taken at the popular tourist destination.  When the ambassador was asked how he felt about the statue, he said: “What I can tell you as a French representative is that Zidane was one of the great football players of his time. It was a pity and the French people were very sad when his career finished in this gesture [of head butting another football player], which is not representative of the glory of his career. “What we French keep in memory is not these two seconds. What we keep in our memory is the 10 or 15 years of happiness and glory he gave to the French football,” he said. Peaucelle said that he respected the fact that the decision to keep or remove the statue at the Corniche was and will be of the Qatari authorities alone.