Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku were involved in heated verbal exchanges during Inter Milan’s 2-1 Coppa Italia quarter-final win over AC Milan on Tuesday evening, a match in which both players scored and Ibrahimovic was sent off.
The pair clashed heads and exchanged insults during a first-half incident and then resumed hostilities following the half-time whistle, with Lukaku being talked down by his coaches after responding to further comments from the Swedish striker.
Both men were booked for the altercation – but there could be further sanctions in the offing after TV cameras picked up exactly what was said.
An absence of a crowd at the game meant that the comments between the two players were largely audible on the televised coverage and the majority of the comments were made in English.
Lukaku: “Let’s go inside you b____.”
Ibrahimovic: “Go do your voodoo s__, you little donkey.”
[seconds later after Ibrahimovic repeated the “voodoo” jibe a number of times]
Ibrahimovic: “Okay, call your mother.”
Lukaku: “He wants to talk about mothers? Son of a b____. F___ you and your wife.”
Neither club has made an official statement on the incident, although Sky Sport Italia report that AC Milan have spoken to Ibrahimovic and the player has denied any racist intent behind his remarks.
i has contacted both clubs for comment.
Why did Ibrahimovic say ‘voodoo’?
— RaiSport (@RaiSport) January 26, 2021
Lo scontro verbale tra #Ibrahimovic e #Lukaku durante il derby di Coppa Italia#calcio #InterMilan #CoppaItalia pic.twitter.com/po2EnarQ5f
Ibrahimovic’s voodoo remark could refer to comments made by Everton owner Farhad Moshiri following Lukaku’s transfer to Manchester United in 2017.
Moshiri claimed that Lukaku was set to sign a new contract at Everton but changed his mind after a “pilgrimage in Africa” during which “he had a voodoo and he got the message that he needs to go”.
Lukaku denied the claims and threatened legal action against Moshiri, with a representative of the player stating: “Romelu’s decision had nothing to do with voodoo. He distances himself from these beliefs and this statement and will now see what judicial steps can be taken in relation to them.
“Romelu is very Catholic and voodoo is not part of his life or his beliefs. He simply had no faith in Everton and no confidence in Mr Moshiri’s project. That is why he did not want to sign on any condition. He wanted to make the next step in his career and wanted the security to be able to leave.”
Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan
Inter won the game thanks to a Lukaku penalty after 71 minutes and a stunning free-kick from Christian Eriksen in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
The Nerazzurri dominated large portions of the match at the San Siro, holding two thirds of possession, mustering 27 total shots and producing ten attempts on target to Milan’s one.
Both Lukaku and Ibrahimovic were booked after their first-half clash of heads, and the Milan forward was dismissed in the second half after picking up a second yellow for a tactical foul to halt an Inter counter-attack.
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 27, 2021
???? Confronting Lukaku
???? A red card
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a busy man during the Milan derby in the Coppa Italia… ???? pic.twitter.com/J6f8TDWbUD
Inter will play a two-legged semi-final against either Juventus or second-division side SPAL in February.
The Coppa Italia final is scheduled to be held on 19 May.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3oiGzSl
Post a Comment