Qatar removes Zidane’s statue

DOHA: Qatar has removed the Zinedine Zidane headbutt statue less than a month after it went on display following an outcry by some citizens, who slammed the art work as anti-Islam idolization.
The five-meter sculpture which immortalizes the headbutt delivered by the French football legend to Italian player Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final was put on display on Doha’s Corniche on Oct. 3.
But the statue that was sculpted by Algerian-born French artist Adel Abdessemed appears to have offended some citizens in the nation, who saw it as a flagrant violation of religious tenets. It was removed on Monday, according to local newspapers.
“Congratulations for having new idols,” wrote one tweeter sarcastically, as the Arabic hashtag “Zidane’s statue in Qatar” triggered massive reaction from dismayed citizens. “It is sad that our youth see in this art and modernity. Our children do not differentiate between the right and the wrong, or the prohibited and the permissible,” wrote another.
The Qatar Museum Authority bought the “Coup de Tete” sculpture after it was put on display earlier outside the Pompidou Center in Paris. It was also reportedly displayed between July and September in Italy’s coastal town of Pietrasanta.
QMA reportedly said at the time that the sculpture was planned to be a permanent fixture on the corniche.
Doha News website said the statue will now join Abdessemed’s collection that is on display in the Arab Museum of Modern Art, citing QMA chief marketing officer Kimberly French.
The Museum is hosting until Jan. 4 an exhibition by Abdessemed entitled “L’age d’or,” featuring drawings, paintings, sculptures and videos.