March 20 – UEFA has slapped a mandatory one-match ban on PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic following his sending off in the Champions league victory over Chelsea. But his team mate Serge Aurier was less fortunate, receiving a three-match suspension for his abusive tweets.
The bans mean that neither player will be available for the Champions League quarter final first leg – PSG’s opponents will be known tomorrow after the draw for the next round takes place. If PSG progress Aurier will be unavailable for the first leg of the semi-final as well.
The match against Chelsea descended into a behaviourial farce with player theatrics and post match celebrations and comments detracting from a pulsating match.
Ibrahimovic was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Chelsea’s Oscar, which sparked a Chelsea protest with nine players surrounding the referee demanding his dismissal. Ibrahimovic later accused the Chelsea players as acting like babies.
Aurier, who did not play in the match, made comments about referee Bjorn Kuipers on Twitter that were considered more heinous by UEFA than Inbrahimovic’s foul.
The Cote d’Ivoire international called the Dutchman a “dirty son of a b****” in a video he posted on Twitter in the aftermath of the second leg in London, only to later apologise via the social networking site.
The decisions were made by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
So the moral of the story is to keep your studs down on the pitch and your hands in your pockets off it.
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