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Despite two decades having passed, the most famous 'headbutt' in football history refuses to be consigned to the pages of history. On the 20th anniversary of the historic 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy, Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo broke his silence to reveal unbelievable surprises about the secret backstage and the 'cinematic trick' he used to show the red card to legend Zinedine Zidane.

The incident that happened at the 110th minute at the Berlin Stadium dashed the dreams of Les Bleus. The referee revealed in an exciting interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, recalling the critical moments before the red card in a time when there was no VAR technology.

The referee and his assistants saw nothing!

Elizondo dropped the biggest bombshell by admitting that he and his assistants on the lines did not see the headbutt at all, because the play was in another area. He said: 'I saw Materazzi on the ground not getting up, I ran to him and asked the first assistant then the second via the radio, and their shocking response was: We saw nothing.'

The lifeline came through the headset of the fourth official, Spanish Luis Medina Cantalejo, who shouted in his ear: 'Zidane headbutted Materazzi forcefully, it's a straight red card.'

Here, the Argentine referee was in a dilemma: How could he show a historic red card in front of millions of screens and the stadium without having seen the incident himself or his assistants? So he resorted to a 'smart trick': 'I pretended to go and consult with the assistant and talk to him as if he had information, I just wanted to act out that scene in front of the fans and the world so everyone understood that we made the decision together. I told the assistant: 10 minutes left, stay focused, then I turned and sent Zidane off.'

Zidane's secret words before leaving

Elizondo recalls the moments after showing the red card and how he was surprised by the French captain's calmness, saying: 'When he saw me running with my hand in my back pocket, he started taking off the captain's armband without objection, and I began to feel relieved.'

But the most dramatic moment was when Zidane approached the referee while he was writing down his name, touched his shoulder, whispering secret words that are now revealed:

Zidane to the referee: 'Calm down.. the red card is absolutely correct, but didn't you hear or see what happened before that?'

Referee: 'No, what happened?'

But 'Zizou' turned his back and left the field silently in the last match of his football career.

Zidane was referring in his secret conversation with the referee to the harsh verbal provocation he received from Italian defender Marco Materazzi. This was later confirmed by the latter, recounting the tense incident: 'Amid the argument and insults, Zidane offered me his shirt (after pulling his shirt), and I replied provocatively that I preferred his sister.'

Although the French star later apologized to all the children and the audience who watched the incident, stressing that his action was unjustifiable, he made a historic statement: 'I apologize, but I never regret it. Because regret would mean that what Materazzi said was true.' Thus that incident remains, rightfully, the most controversial and provocative farewell in the history of the beautiful game.