Vicious Headbutt O.K., But Not Drugs

Retiring French soccer thug star Zinedine Zidane will live on in infamy for giving an Italian player a stunning, vicious headbutt in the chest during Sunday's World Cup final. Notes the Guardian:

Pascal Boniface, director of Paris's Institute for International and Strategic Relations and author of a recent book on football and globalisation, said Zidane's huge advertising contracts were probably safe. "Zidane must now come forward and explain. It won't kill off his contracts — it wasn't a line of coke."

Got that? Apparently it's perfectly forgivable to commit battery and grave physical assault— but if Zidane had taken a recreational drug, hurting no one, his sponsors would have turned their backs on him. That tells you all you need to know about the topsy-turviness of international drug hysteria.

BONUS: Via Reason's Hit & Run, here is your chance to walk in Zidane's soccer boots — and do some virtual headbutting of your own.

Comments

[Amsterdamsky]

Amazing. The US insanity comes to europe. You can pretty much randomly assault people in the US without bothering the police much but if you get caught smoking a joint or be caught with Coke (even if planted by the police) you will be looking at jail time for the Coke and will be in courts for a year if not in jail for the weed.

[Dakota]

Hey, I'm with ya on the hyper sensitivity to the victimless crime of consuming drugs bit. But seriously that was hardly a "vicious" headbutt even in the cushy confines of a soccer field, or football pitch or whatever. Zidane was more likely to hurt himself then do any lasting damage, besides that’s what you get for "going to mama’s."