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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ‘Slapped’ an undisclosed fine after being accused of slapping a rival. Following LA Galaxy’s derby against LAFC – known as El Trafico – Lee Nguyen claimed Ibra had hit him.
A brief video clip showed the former Manchester United striker, 36, putting his hands on his rival’s face.
And after being tagged on Twitter, Nguyen wrote: “Not too sure about the rules MLS, but I guess slapping other players is OK these days.”
@Ibra_official slapping @LeeNguyen24 in #eltraffico @LAFC @LAGalaxy #LAFC #3252 pic.twitter.com/qeCKxTFQsN
— Dmann ᙇ⚡ (@DavidSamuelMann) August 25, 2018
When being accused of being too soft, he replied: “So we should go around putting our hands in other players faces. “Rules are there so the game stays beautiful”.
Friday’s El Trafico ended in a 1-1 draw which left LA Galaxy seventh and LAFC third in the Western Conference.
Ibra scored the opener but saw his effort cancelled out by a Carlos Vela penalty.
The Swede’s first red card in the MLS came after he slapped Montreal Impact’s Michael Petrasso.
LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic receives a red card for violent conduct after slapping opponent Michael Petrasso
And while he dodged a ban this time, his behaviour is likely to come under close scrutiny in future.
The league also fined Real Salt Lake midfielder Damir Kreilach for the same rule after an incident against Colorado over the weekend.
As the MLS campaign prepares to move into its penultimate month, several clubs have begun nudging their fans to remind them about season ticket renewals.
Indeed, LA Galaxy have brought in the club’s biggest gun to help persuade supporters to renew.
To drum up the numbers, Galaxy have emailed season ticket holders with a brief personal message (or potential threat) from none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic himself.
Imagine the panic at finding a “Message From Zlatan” in your inbox. It may only contain seven words, but each is exponentially more intimidating than the last.
It wouldn’t surprise us to see the StubHub Center operating a 100 percent capacity next year.