What a week of fear for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. If being sent off on Saturday against Parma for protesting was a small thing, the punishment that comes to him A league for breaching antiCovid rules by being caught without a mask in the restaurant closed a day later is diminished by what was notified this Wednesday.
And it is that the controversy and the Swede go hand in hand, so much so, that he could be close to receiving the harshest sanction of his career which would lead him even to retirement.
The reason is this: with his return to the selection, he has broken the rules of the code of ethics of the FIFA i UEFA to be a partner of the betting company Bethard.com, as it is forbidden for footballers participating in the two bodies to obtain such monetary income.
Zlatan is co-owner of this betting house based in Malta since 2018, where he would not have been able to participate in the World Cup in Russia this year if he had wanted to.
“Ibrahimovic became co-owner and leader of Bethard through its limited company, Unknown AB, in 2018. Due to this relationship, he would not have been able to participate in the 2018 World Cup, even if he had wanted to reverse his international retirement at this stage, “the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported.
Bethard listed 301 million Swedish kronor (around 30 million euros) in 2019, of which Zlatan received a large percentage as the owner of the company, Erik Skarp, confirmed that the player of the Milan he remains a partner in the bookmaker.
The punishment for violating this regulation imposed by the FIFA would carry a fine of almost 100,000 euros along with a possible suspension of all football-related activities for a maximum of three years.