UEFA will launch an investigative process on the partnership between football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the online betting site Bethard. The organization that organizes football in Europe reported that an Ethics and Discipline inspector was tasked with investigating the player’s posture, analyzing whether his association with the brand disregards the rules of the sport.
The alleged financial involvement of the Milan player from Italy with a bookmaker may be in breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which states that players may not have stakes in companies that “promote, organize or conduct gambling, gambling , lotteries or similar events or transactions related to football games and competitions ”.
The Swedish press revealed that Ibra’s company has a 10% stake in the betting operator. For this reason, FIFA and UEFA have stressed that they will initiate separate formal investigations and, if found guilty of breaching the rules of the two entities, the 39-year-old can be banned from the sport for three years, in addition to receiving a fine of 100,000 francs Swiss.
A UEFA statement noted: “In accordance with Article 31 (4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR), a UEFA Ethics and Discipline Inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding a potential violation by Zlatan Ibrahimovic for having an alleged financial situation linked to a betting company. More information on this subject will be announced in due course ”.
Ibrahimovic’s relationship with Bethard has been the subject of several investigations
Ibrahimovic became Bethard’s global ambassador in early 2018, when he was still defending England’s Manchester United. On this occasion, he was subjected to an investigation by the English Football Association (FA).
The rules of the English entity also prohibit players from disclosing or having any relationship with betting brands. In addition, this agreement was the subject of a three-year investigation by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF).
Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to defend the selection of Sweden in the Qualifiers for the World Cup 2022 and also played for Milan in the Italian Championship and in the Europa League, his first participation in international games since the Euro Cup 2016. In the last days, he announced the its renewal with the Italian team for another season.
