Zlatan Ibrahimović Fined €50,000 After Links To Betting Operator Uncovered

Zlatan Ibrahimović is a savage on the pitch, by far the most successful Swedish soccer player of all time and well-known as one of the best strikers in the world. He is one of the winningest active players in the world, with 31 trophies in his career, and has scored over 570 career goals, including 500+ club goals.

Recently, Ibrahimovic has landed himself in some trouble after the UEFA Appeals Body fined him €50,000 after it was discovered that he was in violation of Article 12(2)(b) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, which is firmly against any players to be profiting from a betting company in any capacity. 

Moreover, Ibrahimović was also given an order to immediately stop all association with the betting operator.

His team, AC Milan, was also fined €25,000 for violation of Article 12(2)(b) because of their players' financial links to a betting company.

UEFA Makes Quick Ruling

The Appeals Body announced that they were implementing an investigation into Ibrahimović in April 2021. Until today, the betting operator has not been revealed, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that he has ownership in Bethard through an Unnamed AB business.

Players are able to do non-financial things with betting companies, but cannot benefit financially. He began working with Bethard in March 2018, but, in a developmental and ambassadorial position.

Bethard received some great news earlier in May, as Esports Entertainment Group agreed to acquire them in a big deal worth more than €22.1m.

UEFA has had some battles of their own with corruption accusations from a few years ago, but, any player that has financial ties to a betting operator will be penalized accordingly. 

True, €50,000 is not a hefty sum for a star player like Ibrahimović, but it should act as a message for other players playing under UEFA regulation.