Ibrahimovic banned after outburst
PSG star man is hit with a four-match ban after his verbal tirade against a referee last month.
Paris Saint-Germain and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been given a four-match ban by the French football authorities for a foul-mouthed and rather amazing rant that was captured live on TV after his side lost to Bordeaux last month.
After a game which Ibrahimovic clearly felt was ruined by sub-standard refereeing, the PSG star launched into an extraordinary tirade against the match officials in the tunnel, saying that he had never seen one good referee in France in 15 years, as well as that France “does not deserve PSG”, in amongst all the other things he said that are just a little too fruity to be repeated here. It was the sort of tirade that may have had the likes of Joey Barton and Mario Balotelli thinking this was all a bit much.
The Swede did apologise for his actions a day after the incident, which happened on March 15, but after around four weeks of deliberation (though exactly why it took that long I am none too sure), the Ligue 1 disciplinary panel decided on the four-match ban, saying the punishment reflected “the offensive nature and rudeness of his words”.
The four matches will apply only to games in the French Ligue 1, and not for cup matches or the Champions League, although Ibrahimovic will miss the first leg of the quarter final against Barcelona next Wednesday after a red card in the previous round against Chelsea.
Ibrahimovic, 33, who is generally regarded as one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, has not been without controversy in his career, and perhaps the referee in question should count his lucky stars that he was only on the receiving end of a verbal assault from the Swede.
Ibrahimovic, all 6 ft. 5 inches of him, has not always been one to shy away from dishing out the kicks and punches. Various teammates and opponents of Ibrahimovic can attest to that, namely Antonio Cassano, Christian Wilhelmson, Rafael van der Vaart, Oguchi Onyewu, Marco Rossi, Salvatore Aronica and Stephane Ruffier, to name but a few. This is not to mention the various times he has shouted various insults at players, managers and referees over the years.
PSG hold a narrow lead of Lyon in the French Ligue 1 standings with seven games remaining. Even with Ibrahimovic missing four of them, PSG should still be confident they have the tools to take the title again, even if it hasn’t been quite as easy a ride as they may have expected, given that the budgets of all other clubs in France pale into insignificance compared to that of the Parisians.
One way or another, Ibrahimovic is always great entertainment on and off the pitch, though the day he does eventually decide to retire might be a day to rejoice for fellow players and referees alike.
