Daily Mail Agrees To Apologize, Pay Damages To Soccer Star Over Story

Days before a trial was to begin, the Daily Mail will pay Italian soccer player Marco Materazzi “substantial” damages for printing stories that he made racial comments to French rival Zinedine Zidane that made him so angry during a game that he lost his temper during the 2006 World Cup final. After the game, Mr. Materazzi said he had made personal, insulting comments to Mr. Zidane but denied that they were racial, and said they were the same kind of the remarks that soccer players often make to one another. Mr. Zidane told an interviewer that Mr. Materazzi had said “very personal things” but he “tried not to listen.”

At least one other newspaper which has printed about Mr. Materazzi’s racial statements to Mr. Zidane have has retracted them and agreed to pay damages. The Daily Mail will print an apology and pay Mr. Materazzi’s costs as well as damages. Read more here in a Guardian story.