Paris Saint-Germain have launched an appeal against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s four-match ban for the comments he made attacking France and its referees – taking the case to the nation’s highest sporting authority, the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF).
Ibrahimovic received the ban for his outburst after his side’s 3-2 loss to Bordeaux on 15 March – the Swede caught on camera shouting about the referee in English, saying: “I’ve been playing for 15 years and I’ve never seen [good] refereeing in this shit country. They don’t even deserve PSG in this country.”
If the CNOSF appoint a mediator to oversee the case, Ibrahimovic’s ban could be suspended pending a decision, meaning he may be available for Saturday’s league match at Nice.
Speaking last month, Ibrahimovic attempted to play down the row, saying: “I like it in France. I would not have played there for so long and I would not have renewed my contract if I did not like it.
“All the others, all that bullshit, they just want to pull me down from the top but I will not go. I like it on top. That’s where I’ll stay.”
