AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has defended himself against accusations he aimed racist comments at Inter‘s Romelu Lukaku during the Coppa Italia quarterfinal on Tuesday, saying there is no place for racism in “Zlatan’s world.”
Ibrahimovic and Lukaku, who played together at Manchester United, exchanged words at the end of the first half before the pair had to be restrained as the players left the pitch for the interval.
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– ESPN+ viewer’s guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more
The referee cautioned the duo before giving Ibrahimovic another yellow card and a red after the restart for a foul on Aleksandar Kolarov. AC Milan went on to lose 2-1.
The BBC reported that a pitchside microphone had picked up Ibrahimovic saying “go do your voodoo” to Lukaku, an apparent reference to 2018 comments from Everton owner Farhad Moshiri that the Belgian turned down an offer to stay in Merseyside on the advice of a “voodoo message.”
However, Ibrahimovic said on Instagram: “In Zlatan’s world there is no place for racism.
“We are all the same race — we are all equal. We’re all players some better then others.”
Sky Sports reported that the Italian Football Federation is likely to make a decision on the matter on Friday.