Spectators should have been shown Zidane head-butt footage: UEFA

London, July 13 (UNI) UEFA President Lennart Johansson feels spectators at the Olympiastadion in Berlin should have been shown the video footage of Zinedine Zidane's head-butt to Italian defender Marco Materazzi to avoid the crowd hostility towards the eventual champions, who were booed after the French captain's ejection from the final in the 109th minute.

''I didn't see the incident. Like everyone else in the stadium I was in the dark about what he had done. But I was concerned about the reaction of the crowd and the way they booed and hissed the Italians after they had won the cup. That has never before happened at a World Cup final and it isn't nice,'' Johansson told the 'Daily Telegraph'.

The UEFA chief said the incident might have led to crowd trouble and FIFA should consider showing any such act by players on the big screen so as to make the situation clear to the spectators.

''It could have turned nasty but, fortunately, it didn't but we have to examine what sort of information we can provide the fans in the ground so they know what's happening. We have to see if these incidents can be shown on the big screen at the ground,'' he opined.

Zidane had head-butted Materazzi after an exchange of words with the defender but nobody, including the referee, had seen it happen except for Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who rushed towards the linesman to inform him. The referee then consulted the fourth official, who confirmed the French captain's violent act, and gave the marching orders to him in his last international game.

Johansson felt in such a case situation can go out of hands if tempers flair and it would be in the best interest of the game to keep the spectators informed to avoid a scenario like that.

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