Catalogue of unsavoury incidents have blighted Zlatan’s career

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ugly scenes

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s charge of alleged violent conduct by the FA following Saturday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth is the latest in a number of controversies that have littered the striker’s career.

Ibrahimovic appeared to elbow Tyrone Mings moments after the Cherries defender had stood on the 35-year-old Swede’s head. Mings has also been charged with alleged violent conduct – you can read how Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Gary Neville reported on the incident here.

However, the incident is not the first time Ibrahimovic has been involved in some unsavoury incidents.  Here, we take a look at a selection of other unsavoury incidents involving Ibrahimovic during his 18-year career.

 

VAN DER VAART TACKLE (August 2004)

Ibrahimovic was publicly accused by Ajax team-mate Rafael van der Vaart of deliberately injuring him during a friendly between Sweden and Holland in a tackle which resulted in torn ankle ligaments for the Dutchman. In the row that followed, Ibrahimovic threatened to break Van der Vaart’s legs.

Disciplined: Ibrahimovic was not booked for the tackle and was not publicly disciplined by Ajax, but was sold to Juventus weeks later for £12million.

 

FIGHT WITH OGUCHI ONYEWU (November 2010)

After falling out with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Ibrahimovic was loaned to AC Milan in summer 2010 – and soon found himself involved in a training-ground fight with 6ft 5in team-mate Onyewu which the Swede claimed left him with a broken rib. Ibrahimovic reportedly lunged two-footed and then head-butted the American, before the pair were separated by team-mates.

Disciplined: No action.

 

PUNCHED MARCO ROSSI (March 2011)

Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card for punching Bari defender Marco Rossi in the stomach during Milan’s 1-1 home draw in Serie A.

Disciplined: Three-match ban.

 

FOUL-MOUTHED RANT (April 2011)

In his first game back for Milan, Ibrahimovic was shown a second yellow card in his side’s 2-1 win at Fiorentina for comments made to a referee’s assistant.

Disciplined: Three-match ban.

 

SLAPPING SALVATORE ARONICA (February 2012)

Ibrahimovic slapped defender Salvatore Aronica in the face during Milan’s goalless draw against Napoli at the San Siro.

Disciplined: Three-match ban.

 

KICKING GOALKEEPER STEPHANE RUFFIER (November 2012)

As Paris Saint-German headed towards a rare home defeat, Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card for kicking St Etienne goalkeeper Ruffier in the chest.

Disciplined: Two-match ban.

 

STAMPING ON ANDRES GUARDADO (February 2013)

Ibrahimovic received another straight red card for stamping on Valencia winger Andres Guardado during a Champions League tie for PSG in Spain.

Disciplined: Two-match ban.

 

RED CARD AGAINST CHELSEA (March 2015)

Ibrahimovic was sent off during PSG’s 2-2 Champions League draw against Chelsea for a tackle on Oscar, and later accused the English side’s players of acting like “babies”.

Disciplined: One-match ban

 

INSULTING REFEREE (March 2015)

Ibrahimovic was forced to apologise by the French sports minister for his tirade against referee Lionel Jaffredo after PSG’s 3-2 defeat to Bordeaux, which was caught on television cameras. He insulted Jaffredo and one of his assistants, then described France as a “s*** country”.

Disciplined: Four-match ban.

 

What punishment should Ibrahimovic receive? Use the facebook comments box, below, to discuss the most fitting punishment for the Swede…