STOCKHOLM: Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic Thursday filed a “hate crime” complaint Thursday after being the target of vandalism and racists threats, police said, a day after the star announced his part ownership in football club Hammarby.
A statue of the player in Malmo was attacked with fire and paint while the word “Judas” was daubed across the front door of his residence in Stockholm.
The perpetrators of the threatening acts have not been identified but “Ibra” angered fans of Malmo FF (MFF) — the club where he started his professional career in 1999 — on Wednesday when he announced he had bought a share in rival club Hammarby.
In Malmo, several people, most of them wearing hoods, vandalized a statue of Ibrahimovic that was unveiled just two months ago. Near the monument they wrote the words “Cigani do” (“Gypsy” in Bosnian, and “die” in Swedish) in spray paint.
Born in Malmo, Ibrahimovic is the son of a Bosnian father and Croatian mother.
Videos posted on social media showed masked people lighting fires and aiming them at the statue. There was no significant damage and a protective barrier has since been put up around it.
“An investigation has been opened into vandalism and threats with suspected hate crime motive. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the plaintiff,” a police spokesman told AFP.
Earlier on Wednesday, angry supporters had slipped a toilet seat on to one of the statue’s arms.
Hammarby, a Stockholm-based team playing alongside MFF in Sweden’s top league, announced Wednesday morning that Ibrahimovic had bought around 25 percent of the shares in the club.
“He’s turned his back on the city and what made him who he is,” Kaveh Hosseinpour, vice president of the MFF supporters’ club, told broadcaster TV4.
At noon on Thursday, nearly 7,000 people had signed an online petition calling for the immediate removal of his statue in Malmo.
“How could you do this to us?” one outraged signatory wrote while another proclaimed that “everything can’t just be about money.”
In Stockholm, the door of the former Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United forward’s home was covered with the word “Judas,” and a tin of “surstromming,” a notoriously smelly fermented herring had been opened and poured outside the building.
Ibrahimovic, whose contract with Los Angeles Galaxy expires at the end of the year, has not announced whether he will continue his career at another club.
Ibrahimovic files ‘hate crime’ complaint after house and statue vandalized
Ibrahimovic files ‘hate crime’ complaint after house and statue vandalized
- A statue of the player in Malmo was attacked with fire and paint while the word ‘Judas’ was daubed across the front door of his residence in Stockholm
- ‘Ibra’ angered fans of Malmo FF (MFF) — the club where he started his professional career in 1999 — when he announced he had bought a share in rival club Hammarby
Qiddiya powers next phase of ESL Saudi Challenge Overwatch 2 in Saudi Arabia
- Aim to boost careers of young Saudi gamers
- Qiddiya partners with the ESL FACEIT Group
RIYADH: Qiddiya, the Kingdom’s entertainment, sports and cultural destination, has become the official partner of the ESL Saudi Challenge Overwatch 2 tournament in Saudi Arabia.
The ESL FACEIT Group, the world’s leading esports and video game entertainment company, announced its partnership with Qiddiya in a press release recently.
Operated by the group, the ESL Saudi Challenge is a Kingdom-focused, high-stakes Overwatch 2 competition designed to provide local players with a clear professional and global pathway.
Qiddiya’s involvement further expands opportunities for young Saudi gamers to play, compete and qualify in a professional environment, gaining valuable experience at elite level.
The importance of developing a strong local competitive structure was underlined recently at DreamHack Stockholm, where Twisted Minds were crowned Overwatch 2 world champions after an all-Saudi grand final against Al-Qadsiah.
The success of both teams, which have emerged from the domestic Saudi scene, highlighted the impact of sustained grassroots competition and the role of platforms such as the ESL Saudi Challenge.
Franck Guignery, senior vice president for the Middle East and Africa at ESL FACEIT Group, stated: “Welcoming Qiddiya as our first Official Partner is a testament of their commitment to the grassroots scene.
“This partnership, driven by Qiddiya’s dedication to unleash the power of play, ensures that we can provide the professional infrastructure and world-class competition necessary for young Saudis to compete at an elite level and rise to the global stage.”
The partnership also supports ESL FACEIT Group’s role within Vision 2030’s National Esports & Gaming Strategy, which aims to build a sustainable and thriving esports ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.
The second season of the ESL Saudi Challenge is now underway, featuring an updated competition format designed to accelerate the growth of the Saudi esports community.
Season two’s first stage is the FACEIT Gauntlet, featuring eight teams that progress through open qualification rounds. These teams will compete throughout December 2025, with the top two earning places in an international FACEIT League competition.
Stage two will have the winner of the FACEIT Gauntlet join the top three teams from the previous season to contest the playoffs and grand final. The season will conclude with an offline final at ESL FACEIT Group’s new regional headquarters in Riyadh in early 2026.
Fans will be able to attend the live final in Riyadh, with ticket and attendance details to be announced later.
