MADRID, July 11: The fourth official who was responsible for alerting the referee that Zinedine Zidane had headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final has said he saw the incident as it happened.

Spaniard Luis Medina Cantalejo said television replays played no part in his decision to inform referee Horacio Elizondo of the Frenchman's aggression as the two players trotted back after a corner.

“I saw it happen live, I didn't invent anything,” Medina Cantalejo told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday. “The ball was elsewhere and that was where the referee was looking, while the linesman was getting back into position.

“I always tell my fourth official to keep an eye on the players because things can happen as the players get back into position and that is all I did.”

Zidane, playing his final game before retiring from professional football, was sent off in the second period of extra time in the World Cup final with the score at 1-1 and Italy went on to win the game on penalties.

It was the 14th time that the Frenchman has been sent off in his career.

Medina Cantelejo rejected suggestions from France coach Raymond Domenech that the sending off had been provoked by the television replays.

“I respect his opinion, but that is not what happened. This incident shows how important the fourth official is. My job is to help the referee and that is exactly what I did.”

The Spaniard told sports daily Marca: “I don't know what Materazzi said beforehand, but there were protests about the action and (Gianluigi) Buffon went to talk to the linesman. When everything calmed down I told Elizondo what had happened.”

However, he said that the incident should not be allowed to cast a shadow over Zidane's career.

“We should remember a player who was a true gentleman,” he told Cadena Ser.

“He has never argued over decisions. It's sad that a player like him ends his career this way, but he committed an act that had to be punished. I hope he recovers from this as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, a majority of French people forgive Zidane for headbutting of Materazzi, a poll published in the le Parisien newspaper showed on Tuesday.

Of the 802 people polled, 61 percent said they forgave Zidane for the act of fury which earned him a red card.

However 27 percent said they did not forgive him.

Asked whether they understood Zidane's reaction to apparent provocation by Materazzi, 52 percent of those polled said they did, while 32 percent said they did not.

Zidane has not explained his actions publicly. French television said he would talk about the incident “in the coming days”.

The poll was carried out by pollster CSA on Monday. The respondents were aged 15 and over.—Reuters