It seems like Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrity status won’t do much when it comes to the strict rules of UEFA. More specifically, the UEFA Appeals Body issued a €50.000 fine for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after information leaked about his partial ownership of Bethard. This comes after news broke out in April, linking Zlatan with the Swedish betting provider.
It is at that time when UEFA Appeals Body opened an investigation to prove the football player’s ties with Bethard. Moreover, Aftonbladet, a prominent Swedish news outlet confirms the matter. They first revealed that the stake of Zlatan in Bethard is through Unnamed AB. That is of his personal business ventures.
The rule that Sweden‘s top goalscorer broke is article 12(2)(b) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. This rule prohibits professional football players to own or investing in betting providers. Mr Ibrahimovic first contact with Bethard was back in March 2018, when starting out as the brand ambassador.
However, it turns out that there was something more behind that cooperation. Consequently, AC Milan also received a fine alongside their star player. The club from Italy must pay a €25.000 fine since their player has ties with the betting company.
Consequently, in addition to the €50.000 fine, and by order of the UEFA Appeals Body, Zlatan Ibrahimovic must immediately cease all affiliation with Bethard. Yet, it is the general public opinion that this fine is too light for a player of the magnitude like Zlatan. Especially given his astronomical salaries and successful business ventures.
And even more so if you take into account that Bethard just recently was acquired by Esports Entertainment Group for a hefty €22m($27m/£19m). Hence we can only conclude that UEFA’s light fine is more like a symbolic gesture. Something meant to remind and reprimand players from violating their rules. Something we personally believe needs further discussion and improvement.
