Zidane’s ‘headbutt’ statue to be relocated to museum

The statue immortalizing Zinédine Zidane’s “headbutt” on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, removed from the Doha Corniche in 2013, will be reinstalled in the new Sports Museum. The work by French artist Adel Abdessemed had been purchased by the Qatar Museums Authority as part of preparations for the FIFA World Cup to be held from November 21 to December 18. It had been removed less than a month after its installation by the sea in the center of Doha, following a campaign denouncing idolatry prohibited by Islam. The emirate’s cultural calendar includes, among other things, an exhibition devoted to football at the Sports Museum from October.