Zlatan Ibrahimovic has apparently tried to deny any racism on his part, following questions about the nature of the insults hurled between him and Romelu Lukaku during the Milan derby on Tuesday night.
As Milan led 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ibrahimovic, the former Manchester United team-mates clashed at the stroke of half-time, exchanging words and clashing before being separated by teammates. They both received yellow cards for this heated exchange.
The Swedish striker would continue to see red in the second half for a second bookable offense. Inter made their man advantage count as the winners exhausted themselves 2-1 thanks to a penalty from Lukaku and the winner from Christian Eriksen.
During the clash between the two attackers, Ibrahimovic may be seen Apparently telling Lukaku, “Go do your voodoo, little donkey,” raising concerns about possible racist abuse.
The Milan striker took to social media on Wednesday with a clear anti-racism message, in apparent response to the backlash over the incident.
“In the world of ZLATAN, there is no room for RACISM,” Ibrahimovic wrote on Twitter. “We are all of the same race – we are all equal !! We are all PLAYERS some better than others. ”
The 39-year-old then tweeted a link to a video from his June 2020 Instagram page that depicts a black and white toddler running towards each other and kissing, with the caption “We are A”.
In the world of ZLATAN, there is no room for RACISM.
We are all of the same race – we are all equal !!
We are all PLAYERS some better than others. Https://t.co/DhguHUOFte– Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) January 27, 2021
Ibrahimovic’s “voodoo” comment, if that’s what he said, is seen by many as a reference to Everton’s exit from Lukaku in 2018. The Belgian forward has left Goodison Park for Old Trafford in a move to £ 75million in July, after rejecting a profit. new offer from the Toffees four months earlier.
Everton’s main shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, claimed Lukaku refused to extend his stay in Merseyside because a voodoo message told him to join Chelsea.
“We gave him a better deal than Chelsea and his agent came to Finch Farm to sign the contract,” Moshiri said (via The Guardian). “Robert [Elstone, Everton’s chief executive] was there, everything was in place, there were a few journalists outside, then at the meeting Roma called his mother. He said he was on a pilgrimage to Africa or somewhere else and had voodoo and got the message he needed to go to Chelsea. “
A known Catholic, Lukaku denied the story at the time, even threatening to sue Moshiri for his bizarre comments.
The rivalry between Lukaku and Ibrahimovic has simmered since the duo joined Serie A in the 2019/20 season. They have been embroiled in a battle to become the number one striker in Italy, with the two both qualifying as ‘king’ on social media after various encounters between rivals Milan.
