An Italian lip-reader last night claimed to have deciphered the words Marco Materazzi said to Zinédine Zidane that provoked the French captain into butting him in the chest during Sunday's World Cup final, the great midfielder's final act before a red card ended his career in top-level football.

According to the BBC, Materazzi said, "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family," and then told Zidane to "go fuck yourself".

A Paris-based anti-racism group, SOS-Racism, earlier said that "several very well informed sources" had suggested Zidane was called a "dirty terrorist".

But though video evidence is being used to judge Materazzi, it was not used by match officials to condemn Zidane.

Fifa yesterday released a statement insisting that "the fourth referee saw the incident with his own eyes and told the referee and the assistant directly through their headsets".

The controversy did not stop Zidane from winning the Golden Ball as the World Cup's best player, ahead of the final's other captain, Italy's Fabio Cannavaro.

The Frenchman earned 2,012 points in a poll of journalists covering the event, with Cannavaro on 1,977 and the Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo third with 715.

There was one burning question left unanswered following Italy's World Cup final triumph over France.

What did Italian defender Marco Materazzi say to Zinedine Zidane that provoked the brilliant Frenchman's moment of madness?

Something the Italian said obviously hit a raw nerve with Zidane as he stopped, walked back towards him and landed a fierce butt on his chest about 10 minutes before the end of extra time.

Zidane was subsequently sent off and the Italians held their nerve to win 5-3 on penalties after the scores were locked at 1-1 following extra time.

But neither the French master or Materazzi have yet commented on the incident.

Zidane said nothing to the media, which is nothing new since falling out with the French press for relentless criticism during Cup preparations.

Though he scored Italy's only goal and played a pivotal role in Zidane's expulsion, Materazzi rushed through a mob of journalists, refusing to divulge what he had said. "Ciao, ciao, ragazzi," he shouted.

France coach Raymond Domenech had no doubts who the villain was, blaming Materazzi for provoking Zidane into the incident that brought a sour ending to a remarkable career.

"Something happened, that's for sure," Domenech said. "I can't imagine that Zidane wanted to be sent off.

"Materrazzi is the man of the match, not Andrea Pirlo. He scored and he got Zidane sent off."

Domenech said Zidane, who has declared he will end his playing career after the World Cup, was the victim of rough treatment from his Italian opponents throughout the final in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"When one has to put up with what he had to for 80 minutes and the referee doesn't do anything, one understands. You can't excuse it but you can understand it.

"To see him finish his career in this way is sad. He has had a great career and a great World Cup."

Franz Beckenbauer, the World Cup chief organiser, was convinced that Materazzi must have insulted Zidane to cause him to react in such a manner.

"Something must have been said to Zidane. He is actually a reserved and inoffensive person," Beckenbauer said.

Zidane had been an ever-increasing influence in the match, in which he opened the scoring with a penalty in the seventh minute and almost won with a wonderful header in the 104th only to be denied by Gianluigi Buffon.

But victorious Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta could not resist a parting shot at Zidane.

"It was a spiteful gesture. I wasn't surprised because he did that when he played for Juventus," Zambrotta said.

France's players blamed former Everton defender Materazzi for making sure that Zidane ended his sterling career under a cloud.

"When I see this, I want to smash his face," France defender William Gallas said.

David Trezeguet, who missed the decisive penalty, said Zidane could only be provoked by unspeakable rudeness.

"He can leave with his head held high. The other one (Materazzi), even if he has won the Cup, cannot. Because there is more to life than soccer," he said.

The Italians, meanwhile, could not understand how Zidane could resort to such aggression.

"It is really bizarre that he has to finish his career this way," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said.

Man-of-the-match Andrea Pirlo said it was totally out of character with Zidane's image.

"It was an instinctive thing. Perhaps he was nervous or tired. But he remains a great champion despite," Pirlo said.

Posts on internet forums have suggested there was a racist comment made referring to Zidane's Algerian background, with some suggesting a nipple tweak may have infuriated Zidane.

SMH

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