More than two decades after one of French football’s most enduring images, Zinédine Zidane is set to take charge of France for the first time on Friday night. The former midfielder will be on the touchline rather than the pitch as Les Bleus open their Nations League campaign against Turkey in Izmit, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45.
Zidane begins France coaching role in Izmit
The match marks Zidane’s first official fixture since being appointed France head coach. His return to the national-team set-up inevitably revives memories of the 2006 World Cup final, his final game as a player, when he was sent off after headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.
Online discussion before the Turkey match has raised an unusual question: could Zidane’s dismissal from that final still leave him suspended as he begins his work on the France bench?
- France face Turkey in Izmit on Friday in their opening Nations League match.
- Zidane will lead Les Bleus as head coach, not as a player.
- The 2006 World Cup final was the final appearance of his playing career.
- He was dismissed against Italy after his incident with Materazzi.
No disciplinary threat for France or Zidane
There is no prospect of Zidane being barred from the match, nor of Turkey launching a successful protest to claim the fixture by default.
FIFA’s disciplinary rules set a limitation period for offences committed during matches. Such cases can no longer be pursued after two years. The incident involving Zidane and Materazzi is therefore long beyond the period in which any new action could be taken.
Had a coaching suspension been imposed immediately after Zidane’s retirement and had he moved straight into management, it would have applied during his subsequent work in club football rather than during this France appointment. Zidane has since coached Real Madrid Castilla and later worked with Real Madrid’s first team, initially as an assistant before becoming the club’s head coach.
The 2006 sanction was already served
Zidane was not left without punishment after the World Cup final. FIFA handed him a three-match ban and a fine of 7,500 Swiss francs, listed at the time as around €7,940.
Since Zidane retired after that match, the suspension could not be served in competitive internationals. The disciplinary process also included a commitment from the former France captain to assist FIFA humanitarian initiatives for children and teenagers.
A FIFA spokesman at the time said the commission had taken note of Zidane’s willingness, beyond the penalties imposed, to make himself available for humanitarian work organised by world football’s governing body for young people.
A new chapter, not an old case
Friday’s match in Turkey will not reopen the file from Berlin in 2006. Zidane’s red card, the ban and the financial penalty belong to the closing days of his playing career.
For France, the focus is now on the beginning of his managerial era and a Nations League opener in Izmit.
