Zidane Says TV Supports Penalty Decision
Copyright � 2000 Nando Media
Copyright � 2000 Agence France-Presse
BRUSSELS (June 28, 2000 7:33 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Zinedine Zidane said after France knocked Portugal out of Euro 2000 that TV replays suggested the referee had been right to award the late golden goal penalty which gave the French their 2-1 semifinal win.
Zidane told reporters: "Apparently, TV replays show it was the correct decision. I could not see."
He added: "It was a very difficult match. You can't say that the Portuguese did not deserve to be in the final as much as we did."
Zidane recognized the burden of taking the spot kick, saying: "A penalty in extra time with the golden goal rule is a great responsibility but everything went well."
He added: "When the ball was on the spot I didn't ask myself any questions. I had to shoot.
"I was just concentrating on hitting it hard enough. but it's not always easy to get rid of everthing happening around you."
Marcel Desailly said: "We were not lucky. We did enough to
show that we were the better team. We made the right substitutes
at the right time."
Patrick Vieira said: "I think it was the mental strength of
our group that made the difference."
