Zlatan Ibrahimovic received a strange red card in the Italian Serie A match between AC Milan and Parma which nearly cost Milan the maximum three points.
The red card came when the 39-year-old Swedish footballer is on the verge of extending his contract with AC Milan. His current contract with the club will expire in June 2021.
In the Italian Seria A match played on Saturday, April 10, Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped Milan to take the lead by providing the pass which led to the club’s first goal in the 8th minute through the boots of
Ante Rebic. He was also involved in the club’s second goal in the 44th minute which was scored by Franck Kessie.
In the second half, AC Milan continued to dominate the game until in the 60th minute when Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to exchange words with the center referee, Fabio Maresca. The conversation didn’t turn out well for the Sweden international. He was shown a straight red.
Six minutes after the exit of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the game, Parma got a goal back through the boots of Riccardo Gagliolo to make it 2-1 in the 66th minute.
Parma’s attempt to get at least a point from the game was truncated in the additional 4th minute of the match when AC Milan’s Rafael Leao made it 1-3. The win left Milan with 8 points below first placed Inter Milan.
The strange red card Zlatan Ibrahimovic received on Saturday
Before Zlatan Ibrahimovic was shown the red card, there was no record that he tackled any player. He only had a word with the referee.
According to reports, the center-referee assumed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic told him in Italian that “Sei un Bastardo” which means “you are a b*d” instead of “Mi sembra strand” which means “it seems strange to me.”
After the match, AC Milan’s coach, Stefano Pioli, who was also surprised that his 39-year-old Swedish striker was shown the red card in the match, said Ibrahimovic did not insult the referee.
“Zlatan told me he discussed something with the referee for a while, but did not show a lack of respect and absolutely did not insult him. I haven’t spoken to Maresca, so I don’t know,” Pioli said.
“Zlatan told me the final thing he said was: ‘So you’re not interested in what I have to say?’ I wasn’t there, so I don’t know.”
Ibrahimovic to Maresca: “So you don’t give a damn about what I say? It looks strange to me eh.”
— Milan Eye (@MilanEye) April 10, 2021
Maresca then goes and shows him the red card [via @thelucafac]pic.twitter.com/FGMKRgYMbo
As of the time of publishing this report, Italian Serie A nor the referee had not made a reaction about the incident. Also, it has not been known whether Serie A would allow the ban to stand or rescind the referee’s decision.
So far this season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 15 goals and provided 2 assists in 17 Serie A games. Due to his incredible performance for AC Milan, the club is proposing to offer him a contract extension which will see him earn about €7 million per year.
