Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez was sent off in his debut at Anfield last night and fans are comparing his red card to Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final.
It is one of the most memorable moments in football history and an incident that Italians will gladly remember.
The France legend ended the game and his career in the most incredible way during the extra-time of the 2006 World Cup Final, reacting to insults to Marco Materazzi with a headbutt.
The referee showed him a straight red card, so France played the last minutes of extra-time down to ten men and Marcello Lippi’s boys eventually won the match on penalties, lifting the fourth World Cup in the country’s history.
New Liverpool signing Darwin Nunez did something similar last night and saw a straight red after hitting his opponent Joachim Andersen: thousands of Twitter users have noted the similarity with the incident involving Zidane and Materazzi.
Nothing compared to Zidane’s. As an Italy fan, even I was on my feet applauding. Nothing short of spectacular on such a huge occasion. Chapeau, Zizou, chapeau.
Naaa that was not even a red card. What a clownish display