Zlatan Ibrahimovic has denied using racist language during his angry exchange with Romelu Lukaku in Tuesday's Milan derby in the Coppa Italia.
The AC Milan striker squared up to his Inter Milan counterpart – and former Manchester United teammate – at the San Siro during the end of the first half.
Ibrahimovic taunted Lukaku and infuriated the Belgian by laughing in his face before the pair went head-to-head.
"Go to your voodoo s***, you little donkey," pitch-side microphones reportedly picked up Ibrahimovic allegedly telling Lukaku in English, alluding to an episode during Lukaku's time at Premier League side Everton.
Lukaku, in turn, was heard swearing at Ibrahimovic, making lewd references to his family.
In 2018, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri suggested Lukaku had declined a new contract at the club after heeding the advice of a voodoo message.
In an interview with the BBC in January 2018, a representative of the player raised the possibility of taking legal action against Moshiri.
On Tuesday, Ibrahimovic and Lukaku continued to trade insults as they headed towards the tunnel with the furious Belgian being restrained by his teammates. Both players were booked over the incident, while the 39-year-old was later sent-off after picking up a second yellow card.
Christian Eriksen scored a last-gasp winner to send Inter into the semi-finals 2-1, following goals by both Ibrahimovic and Lukaku, the latter from the penalty spot.
Milan manager Stefano Pioli said that the veteran forward, who player for Inter from 2006-09, apologised after the game for leaving the team a man down.
In ZLATAN’s world there is no place for RACISM.
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) January 27, 2021
We are all the same race - we are all equal !!
We are all PLAYERS some better then others.https://t.co/DhguHUOFte
The BBC also reported that he had assured teammates that there were no racist intentions to any of his words with Lukaku.
On Wednesday, the Swede took to Twitter, writing: "In Zlatan's world there is no place for racism.
"We are all the same race – we are all equal!! We are all players some better then others."
In 2019, Ibrahimovic gave an interview to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in which he said he had once offered Lukaku £50 for every time he had a good first touch.
The matter was being discussed by the Italian Football Federation on Wednesday and an update is expected by Friday.
