Ibrahimovic Facing 3 Year Ban for Alleged Investment in Betting Company
- FIFA and UEFA are monitoring a story which claims Ibrahimovic is a huge stakeholder at a betting company
- The Swedish Football Association have been made aware of the case for three years
- Reports from Sweden further claim Ibrahimovic's company Unknown AB owns 10% of Bethard
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic is facing a three-year ban after it emerged that he might have invested in a betting company.
Source: UGC
According to reports from his native Sweden, Zlatan has a significant stake in a Malta-based betting firm.
Ibrahimovic’s company is said to own 10% stake in a gambling site known as Bethard.
Both FIFA and UEFA regulations do not allow professional football players to be involved in gambling companies and if the AC Milan striker is found guilty, he faces a lengthy ban.
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet further reports that the Swedish Football Association was made aware of Zlatan’s activities and have been in the know for three years now.
The report further states that this might have been the reason Ibrahimovic was not called up for the World Cup in 2018, although he retired from international football in 2016 before making a sensational comeback this year.
Interestingly, a Twitter account under the name Bethard in 2018 shared a cryptic tweet on Zlatan’s absence from the World Cup.
So, the cat is out of the box -@Ibra_official is not going to play the World Cup. You could question if that is news since he left the national team long ago. But anyway, given the number of media inquiries we receive. This is not in any way related to his engagement in Bethard.
The affair is closely being followed by both UEFA and FIFA.
Zlatan is reportedly the fourth largest stakeholder at the company and was announced as the club’s brand ambassador back in 2018.
The betting company, according to Daily Mail, made profits of up to £25.79m (KSh 3.8 billion) if an annual report is anything to go by.
The story first made headlines in 2018 when Swedish Football Association secretary-general, Hakan Sjjstrand commented on the issue, saying, "According to FIFA's regulations and code of ethics, no player may directly or indirectly own shares in betting companies.
"I stick to the facts and can only account for what applies to all nations and players who will participate in the World Cup."
News that he could be in line for a hefty fine or a ban comes just as the AC Milan forward was gearing up for a new deal to keep him with the Rossoneri longer.
Prior to this incident, the last time Ibrahimovic was on the news, he was hitch-hiking a ride from a random Milan fan.
A video he shared online showed the 39-year old aboard the bike, riding in a well-lit tunnel wearing a helmet and a face shield in a short clip released on social media.
Source: Legit.ng
Ibitoye Shittu Ibitoye Shittu is an award-winning Sports Journalist with more than 10 years of experience in News-writing, reporting and Public Relations. He is a B.SC holder in Mass Communication and can be reached on Twitter @ibishittu
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