Zidane's 'head-butt' statue removed from Doha landmark

A five-metre bronze statue depicting the infamous head butt of French legend Zinedine Zidane during the 2006 World Cup final match has reportedly been removed from a famous landmark in the capital city of Qatar, which will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The monument, officially known as Coup de tete (head butt), was installed on the Corniche, which is a famous landmark of Doha, just over three weeks ago

According to Gulf News, several citizens voiced their dismay and criticism, ranging from equating the statue with bad taste to promoting violence and capturing the only negative moment in Zidane's career, over the head-butt sculpture and called for its removal in social networking sites.

However, director of Public Art at the Qatar Museums Authority Jean Paul Engelen said that the statue's craftsmanship and symbolism were as 'timeless as the Greek mythological works of art', adding that the sculpture glorified human defects and showed that footballers were just human beings.

The report mentioned that the statue, which was created in 2012 by a French artiste of Algerian descent like Zidane, might be installed at Mathaf, the Museum of Modern Arab Art.