Sports betting scandal around Ibrahimovic

The football professional Zlatan Ibrahimovic threatens a multi-year ban because of the involvement in the sports betting market. The Swedish superstar is said to have held shares in the Maltese bookmaker Bethard and thus benefited financially from sports betting. Since active football professionals are prohibited by such connections according to the UEFA Charter, the European Football Association has applied its internal ethics committee to the case. This has now officially started the investigation against Ibrahimovic. In the absolute horror scenario, the football star threatens a multi -year lock that could mean the end of the career at his age (39).

Studies against Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most formative figures in professional football and enjoys a unique reputation globally. The Swedish superstar regularly appears in the global media landscape as an enfant and anxious personality. The reporting is usually positive. However, that changed a good two weeks ago. Since then Ibrahimovic has stood in the crossfire of the media and also the UEFA.

The striker of the American top club AC Milan takes care of his Participation in the Maltese betting provider Bethard for plenty of headlines, since his commitment clearly against the regulations of the UEFA violated. For this reason, the European Football Association has officially initiated an investigation to examine the matter more closely. It says on the homepage of the umbrella organization:

“According to Article 31 paragraph 4 of the UEFA disciplinary order, an ethics and disciplinary inspector of the UEFA was commissioned today to initiate a disciplinary investigation against Mr. Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In terms of content, it is about a possible violation of the UEFA disciplinary order and possible financial interests by a betting company. Further information is provided at the given time. “– Alexander Cefer, President of UEFA, Homepage of the UEFA Ethics Commission

According to the UEFA statutes, sporting actors are not allowed to participate in sports betting that aims at financial enrichment. This ban applies to both direct and indirect participation. So the European umbrella organization wants any possibility of Game manipulation and prevent distortion of competition.

Participation in Bethard

According to the matching media reports, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been involved in the “Unknown AB” company in Malta since 2018. Initially, the Swedish only appeared as a pure advertising ambassador for the company before he around ten percent of the company shares are said to have secured.

At the time, potential conflicts of interest were discussed at the time, but the entrepreneurial commitment did not cause any public displeasure, since the 39-year-old striker of AC Milan was no longer part of the Swedish national team. As a result, both UEFA and FIFA no authority to act on Ibrahimovic’s extra -sporting activities. However, the latter announced his comeback for the Swedish selection over the course of the current season and is now in a critical situation.

Bethard. The sports betting provider Bethard is based in Malta and is listed as a serious and trustworthy company thanks to an official license of the Maltese gambling supervision. The bookmaker has been on the rising branch for several years and has been able to build a relatively large customer base. In USA, however, Bethard is rather unknown.

Career for Ibrahimovic?

The conclusions that the Efea ethics committee will come to is still unclear at the present time. However, the final judgment will depend on how the European Football Association will evaluate the past games of Ibrahimovic. It is explicitly about the World Cup qualifiers of the Swedish national team and the Europa League games with AC Milan last month. Should the UEFA be able to demonstrate the participation to Bethard, Ibrahimovic threatens sensitive sanctions, which could have far -reaching consequences for the football star.

In addition to a fine of up to 100,000 $ a lock of up to three years in the room that prevents all participation in professional football. For the 39-year-old Sweden, this verdict would mean the end of the career. Even if, despite his relatively old age, he still acts at a high sporting level, he should no longer be able to call up the corresponding performance at the age of 42.

Trouble in USA. Ibrahimovic is not only worried about Bethard. The Swede has been targeted by the American Football Association due to a different misconception. At the end of January, he clashed in a cup game against Inter Milan with Romelu Lukaku. The two strikers had insulted each other and had to be separated from their own teammates. The verbal derailments are now expensive. The Swede must pay 4,000 and AC Milan 20,000 $ .