Violence advocates upset headbutting statue was removed from Qatar
Photo by Channone Arif
Concerned Parents for the Encouragement of Violence (CPEV) are outraged with the Government of Qatar’s decision to take down a statue of the infamous 2006 Zinedine Zidane headbutt on Marco Materazzi.
This past week, some of the top CPEV members took a break from educating the NHL and NFL on the importance of violence in the development of athletes to protest in Doha, Qatar’s capital city, about the removal of a statue that encapsulates the importance of unnecessary violence in sports.
“Coup de Tete” by the Algerian-born French artist Adel Abdessemed was a celebratory gift to the people of Qatar from their government when they won the right to host the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.
In an exclusive interview with the Tomato, Archie Archaic, a spokesperson for the CPEV said the statue showed Qatar was finally ready to host such a world-class event.
“The statue showed the beautiful savagery that is at the heart of football and at the heart of mankind itself,” said Archaic. “Beyond it being a beautiful reminder of the need for violence in the world, the statue also served as a valuable tool for bridging the gap between the Middle East and the Western world.”
“All cultures could appreciate the miraculous beauty that is the heatbutt,” said Archaic.
The statue was brought down in late October after protest erupted over the statue’s alleged bad example for youth. But the CPEV argued that violence is fundamental in the proper development of youth.
“Young adults around the world, especially males, lack any sort of role models who are excessively violent and put themselves above their team,” said Archaic. “The statue showed that the government had not forgotten about the 16–25 age bracket.”
The statue was initially erected to celebrate the illustrious career of Zinedine Zidane, who was one of France’s most valuable soccer players and won the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000 with France. But it was the head butting of Materazzi in overtime in the 2006 World Cup Finals that played a key factor in Italy’s victory over France and cemented Zidane’s place in sport’s history.
“With the taking down of the statue, we are insulting a great man’s legacy,” said Archaic. “And we risk forgetting the vital role rash decision-making plays in our lives.”
