image: reuters.co.uk

In an interview on Canal+ last night, Zidane revealed what caused him to head/chest-butt Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final.

"He (Materazzi) pulled my shirt several times and I told him that we could swap shirts at the end of the game if he wanted to," Zidane said.

"He, then, pronounced very tough words about my mother and my sister. I tried not to listen to him but he kept repeating them" ... "I knew it was my last game and I knew that there were only 10 minutes to play but things happened very swiftly." ... "I am a man before anything else," he added.

Zidane then apologised to any children who had seen his actions, but stopped well short of apologising to Materazzi.

"I know this is something that one should not do. I want to say that loud and clear because it was watched by two billion people and by millions of kids", Zidane said.

"I want to apologise to them but I can't regret what I did because it would mean that he (Materazzi) was right to say what he said.

"I have taught my kids to respect people and I have taught them that they deserve to be respected in return. I couldn't let something like that be said without any reaction."

FIFA have announced they will launch an investigation into the incident, with Sepp Blatter suggesting they may take back Zidane's Golden Ball award for best player.