FIFA president Sepp Blatter apologized to Italy on Monday for not awarding the team with the World Cup trophy.

"History will say it was an error that the FIFA president did not award the Azzurri as world champions, and in effect it was an error," Blatter said. "I had already apologized to Italian officials right after the final."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said it was an error that he did not award Italy the World Cup trophy last July.
(Eddy Risch/Associated Press)

Blatter said his decision to skip the award ceremony after Italy beat France on penalties on July 9 in Berlin was planned before the game started.

"I wanted to avoid creating an ugly scene because the Germans had shown they would whistle at the word FIFA," Blatter said after arriving in Rome for a ceremony with the World Cup champions.

"Any other hypothesis is pure imagination," Blatter added, according to the ANSA news agency.

Italy was insulted that Blatter did not present the trophy, and that the duties were delegated instead to UEFA president Lennart Johansson.

Blatter also sought to clarify a statement he made in October, when he suggested in an interview with Australian TV that Italy was lucky to reach the quarter-finals.

Italy advanced with a 1-0 win over Australia, decided by a controversial penalty called with only a few seconds remaining in injury time.

Italy 'produced a great effort:' FIFA head

"Yes, Italy deserved to win the World Cup," Blatter said. "The Azzurri found themselves in a difficult situation at the World Cup and they showed a great capacity to play soccer, producing a great effort.

"Whoever spread the contents of that Australian interview would have done well to listen to the tape. They would have understood that there was nothing of the sort," Blatter said.

Blatter was asked if he would have anything to say to Marco Materazzi, who was head-butted by Zinedine Zidane of France in the World Cup final.

"Really, I'm here to meet with all the Azzurri. There will be peace one day with Zidane. What he did you can't justify, but there is the justice of FIFA which is autonomous," Blatter said.

Materazzi got a two-game ban for provoking Zidane, while the former France captain received a three-match suspension. Zidane's punishment was moot, however, because he retired after the World Cup.