Fans in Malmo reacted angrily to the announcement that striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has acquired a stake in Stockholm club Hammarby by vandalizing a statue of the striker outside Malmo Stadium on Wednesday.
It had been announced earlier in the day that 38-year-old Ibrahimovic, Sweden’s record international goal-scorer with 62 in 116 games, had acquired almost 25 percent of the shares in Hammarby, who came third in this year’s Swedish league championship.
Announcing the deal, Ibrahimovic said he intended to make Hammarby the biggest club in Scandinavia, angering many of his former fans at Malmo FF, where he first made his name before a trophy-laden career in Netherlands, Italy, Spain, England, France and the US.
The 3.5-metre tall statue, which weighs approximately 500 kilograms and was unveiled on October 8 with Ibrahimovic present, was scorched with flares while racist messages had been sprayed on the ground nearby, local media reported.
The news has not gone down well in Malmö, who unveiled a statue for their club icon a month ago. Someone chucked a toilet seat onto it this morning in protest.
“Several people are said to have vandalised the statue and sprayed it with paint,” police spokesman Jimmy Morin told state broadcaster SVC, adding that an investigation into the vandalism had been opened. – Eurosport
