Zidane plants headbutt on Materazzi in Qatar... don't worry, it's only a statue!

While doubts remain over Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup, the Gulf state has moved to bring a statue immortalising one of the tournament’s most iconic moments to its shores.
Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt on Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the 2006 final ended the career of the France legend and, without him, his country were beaten in a penalty-shootout.
Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed recreated the moment of madness in a 16-foot bronze statue, initially unveiled outside the famous Pompidou art museum in Paris.

New home: The statue has this week been unveiled in the Qatari capital of Doha

Shoe shine: Workers polish Zidane's boots

Backdrop: Doha Corniche, overlooking the Gulf, will house the statue

Not fussed: A pair of joggers don't seem too fazed by the presence of the new piece of art

But now it has landed in Qatar, the country whose award of the 2022 tournament has caused much controversy and now seems certain to be switched to a winter date.
The statue, though, will be a permanent fixture on the Doha Corniche in the country’s capital.
And Jean Paul Engelen, Qatar Museums Authority director of Public Art, said: 'We expect a lot of people to want to take photos with it, and of it.
'It’s an impressive piece. It’s a huge sculpture, and it’s done in the same style as Greek Mythological statues, but this glorifies human defects instead.
'It shows that although we sometimes treat footballers like gods, they’re not - they’re just human beings.'

Seeing red: Zidane plants his brow into Materazzi's chest

Paris: The statue was initially unveiled in the French capital