Zlatan Says He Should Be Banned for 40 Matches for Elbowing David Alaba

The mighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic found himself at the centre of controversy during Sweden's 1-1 draw with Austria on Monday evening, as he appeared to elbow goalscorer David Alaba in the face.

Hans Punz/Associated Press

The talismanic Swede was given just a yellow card for an offence that many deemed worthy of an instant dismissal.

After the game, Zlatan was typically bullish about the incident, making a sarcastic suggestion that he should be slapped with a very lengthy ban. Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC reports:

"Asked about the incident after the match, Ibrahimovic jested that he should be severely punished for his actions, saying sarcastically: 'I should be banned for 40 matches.'"

Austrian defender Aleksandar Dragovic simply thought that the referee was too intimidated by Ibrahimovic. A notion that can only perpetuate Zlatan's lore. 

"It was a red card for me," Dragovic said via The Guardian. "The referee was scared of Zlatan." 

After his hyperbolic suggestion, the Paris Saint-Germain star told Swedish newspaper Aftonblaet that there was no malice in the challenge (ESPN FC translates):

"'The referee sees that Alaba attacks me twice, and the third time all I tried to do is to shield the ball from him. He's 1.5-1.6 metres [4'11"-5'3" feet] tall—it's clear that he reaches towards my elbow,' he said of Alaba, who is actually 1.8 metres [5'11" feet] tall."

Clearly, Zlatan's towering frame gives him a confused perspective of height when considering everyone shorter than he is, but the jury is probably still out on the intent of the challenge. Something that is abundantly clear, however, is that you must never touch Zlatan.