Why is Zidane apologizing?

I'm not a fan of the French national team, though I am friends with a number of their supporters. Zinedine Zidane has had a brilliant career, but it is going to forever be tainted by this one act.

At any rate, today, he apologized for the violence, but not for the act. Some people can't understand that it is an apology. In my opinion, his apology made sense. Effectively he said he was sorry that he got violent, but he does not regret it.

Why should he have to regret it? Based on what was going on, Marco Materazzi should be doing some apologizing. He was the one who insulted Zidane's mother and/or sister. According to one version, Zidane was called a Harki which appears to be roughtly the equivalent of Malcom X calling Marin Luther King, Jr., an "Uncle Tom".

Is this what we want to do with the French? Make them apologize every time they stand up for themselves?