AC Milan’s scoreless draw against Napoli on Sunday could end up being costly to their Scudetto hopes this season. Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended three matches today for slapping Napoli defender Salvatore Aronica, which means the big Swede could miss the Rossoneri’s clash with Juventus. Milan will appeal the decision.
Ibrahimovic’s slap was not initially seen by the match referee, but after discussing the incident with an assistant, he showed the forward a straight red card. Under Serie A rules, a red card for fighting is an automatic three match ban. If the suspension is upheld, Ibra would miss matches against Udinese, Cesena and Juventus.
Milan is the defending Serie A champion and their match against Juventus on February 25th could help decide this season’s title. With Antonio Cassano and Alexandre Pato both fighting injuries, Milan can ill afford to be without Ibrahimovic for any period of time.
The suspension does not apply to Milan’s upcoming Coppa Italia match.
Hopefully the team learned a lesson here, and will market their brand and team professionally in the future.
