It does not take much insight into the English way of seeing and doing things to imagine the repercussions had one of our World Cup squad ended his career in Zinedine Zidane fashion.
An English Zidane would have been torn to pieces by press and public, hounded from pillar to post and left feeling he alone had cost his country victory.
In time, he would have been able to shrug off Most Hated Public Figure status. But he would never have been allowed completely to forget the moment of shaming stupidity.
And he most certainly would not, less than six months after the event, have been named his country's most popular personality in a respectable opinion poll.
But that is what has happened in France. Zidane's act of violence, butting the oafish Italian Marco Materazzi under some verbal provocation, has not so much been forgotten as ignored or understood or even applauded by the French public. Zidane was one of my two favourite footballers of his time, another Frenchman - Thierry Henry - being the other.
But my admiration for his consummate skill did not lead me to overlook his appalling disciplinary record - 13 red cards, more than a few of them for behaving as a lout.
On the morning after the last dismissal of Zidane's career contributed greatly to the wrong team winning the 2006 World Cup, the French sports daily L'Equipe gave front page prominence to a stern, headmasterly piece asking how he would explain his coup de tête to millions of youngsters who looked to him as a role model.
That is about as long as Zizou's humiliation lasted. Later the same day, President Chirac cleverly sensed and exploited what was quickly becoming the public mood, and welcomed the French squad back to Paris as returning heroes and making light of Zidane's disgrace.
Before long, a jolly pop record glorifying the assault on Materazzi was all over the radio and in the charts.
An interview in which Zidane explained himself - a bit, and with regret but not apology - was to become the most-viewed Canal+ programme of the year. And someone in Italy began marketing sweatshirts showing two
figures simulating the incident.
So which approach is right? I tend to agree with those who feel the British are far too quick to build 'em up and bring 'em down. David Beckham did not deserve the abuse he received for the petulance that brought him a red card in France 98. Football is a game of passion and a player should not be consigned to eternal shame for a sudden loss of control.
But nor does Zizou deserve to be hailed the people's hero so soon after setting such an appalling example.
The French who voted for him acted like those parents from hell whose idea of supporting little Darren and Jason in a school match is to jump up and down on the touchline urging children to replicate the excesses of millionaire superstars they see on the telly.
Having said which, this is rather a nice tribute, all the same, to the many positive features of Zizou's career.......
See also: When Ingrid Betancourt cried for France, but applauded Zizou
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