Zlatan Ibrahimovic 4-Match Ban Appealed by PSG: Full Details, Reaction

Paris Saint-Germain’s mercurial forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been banned for four matches by the French Football Association following a rant at match officials, but the Ligue 1 giants are not prepared to let the matter drop.

Continue for updates.

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Zlatan Ban Reduced to 3 Matches

Friday, April 17

Jonathan Johnson of ESPNFC reported that Ibrahimovic's ban has been reduced to three matches. 

Earlier in the day, Johnson provided the surprise news that Ibrahimovic will be banned for the weekend encounter with Nice.

PSG's appeal had previously been expected to free the Swede up for Saturday's match, tweeted by Robin Bairner of Goal.com.

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Zlatan Verdict Angers PSG

Friday, April 10

The Ligue 1 giants initially responded to Zlatan's four-match suspension by insisting the striker's comments should have been declared private. Deputy sporting director Oliver Letang told L'Equipe, per Ian Holyman of ESPN FC:

"

For us, Zlatan should not be suspended, because he aimed no hurtful or insulting words at the match officials. The fourth official confirmed his words were said after the officials' dressing-room door had been closed. Zlatan was only talking to himself, in an area that we can consider private.

"

Johnson of ESPN FC had Ibrahimovic's thoughts on the ban:

Johnson added more on what PSG plan to do from here:

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4-Match Ban Imposed on Ibrahimovic

Thursday, April 9

The verdict was handed down after the Swedish star launched an expletive-laden rant against a referee following the Ligue 1 champions’ 3-2 loss to Bordeaux last month. As noted by Jonny Singer of the Daily Mail, the striker also bellowed that the French “don't even deserve PSG.”

The ban comes at the worst possible time for last year's French champions. They are top of the table right now, but Hubert Fournier’s young Lyon outfit is only one point behind.

Zlatan is just coming into a rich vein of form too. He scored a fine hat-trick for PSG in their French Cup victory over Saint-Etienne, bringing his total for the club to a century of strikes in the process. The pick of the goals can been seen here courtesy of Yakatak Football:

It’s worth noting that the Parisians were also without their talisman for their Champions League clash with Barcelona after he was harshly shown a red card in the previous round against Chelsea.    

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

For Ibrahimovic, it will be hugely disappointing to miss such a critical stage of the season, especially after something that occurred off the pitch and which, for a man of his incomparable experience, could have easily been avoided.

Edinson Cavani is an able deputy, but the Swede remains the go-to figure for Laurent Blanc’s team and the man most likely to conjure something magical to haul PSG out of trouble. With games set to be tight, tense affairs at the end of the season, any side would miss a player of his calibre with the ability to light up a match in an instant.      

With Zlatan potentially on the sidelines for domestic matches to come, the prospects of a historic haul suddenly look a little slimmer for the French champions.