Paris: Paris Saint-Germain’s volatile star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic could face a four-match suspension over comments he made about his host country, which one French minister called “insulting”.
The French league will study the Swedish player’s latest outburst at a meeting on Thursday and a source close to the dossier said he could face up to a four-match ban.
However, the punishment would not be imposed on Thursday as they would decide then whether or not to summon him to a hearing over the incident and that would be within three weeks, although PSG could demand that it be heard earlier.
Even though Ibrahimovic apologised in a public relations damage limitation campaign, far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen said he should leave France.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told Canal Plus he was shocked by Ibrahimovic’s remarks, in which the Swede labelled France as being a ‘[expletive] country’.
“I am shocked by the remarks in equal measure about the refereeing as about France,” he said. “I would urge him to behave in an exemplary manner all the time.”
The league imposed a two-match ban in February after Ibrahimovic kicked an opponent.
He was also controversially sent off in the Champions League victory over Chelsea last week and will miss the two-leg quarter-final.
Ibrahimovic, who has a reputation for making outspoken comments, made the remarks after a 3-2 defeat by Bordeaux on Sunday in which he scored twice.
Furious at decisions made against PSG, Ibrahimovic stormed off the pitch and said: “In 15 years, I have never seen such a referee. In this [expletive] country, this country does not deserve PSG. We are too good for this country.”
He also made an abusive comment about the referee but backed down after France’s Sports Minister Patrick Kanner called the remarks “insulting”.
But the apologies were not sufficient to calm the stormy waters.
Sports Minister Kanner welcomed the apology but said “if a personality as important as Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes such comments, we should not be surprised that there are such difficulties in stadiums.”
Jerome Guedj, a leading Socialist party politician, called the remarks “unacceptable”.
“Let him play football and shut up, or at least be respectful of this country, the football supporters who were also insulted.”
Ibrahimovic has become an icon for Paris fans and a wax effigy was unveiled at the Musee Grevin in Paris last month.
A fresh ban could see him miss some key matches as PSG chase four trophies and would also increase speculation about his future at the club.
Comments made by the Swedish player at the referee in Sunday’s game are likely to be studied at Thursday’s hearing.
The French referees union, SAFE, hit out at what it called “a new torrent of hate and verbal violence” by Ibrahimovic.
“There are limits that cannot be and must not be crossed,” the union said, highlighting the “growing violence” at football matches even at local level.
