Red Star Belgrade apologise to Zlatan after being abused by fan in their 2-2 draw in Europa cup

Red Star Belgrade apologise to Zlatan after being abused by fan in their 2-2 draw in Europa cup

Red Star Belgrade have apologised to Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the AC Milan forward was racially abused by one of their fans on Thursday night.

The striker, who has Bosnian roots, did not play in the last-32 Europa League match but was sat on the bench when cameras picked up a supporter yelling ethnic insults towards him.

Zlatan was born in Sweden to a Croatian Catholic mother and a Bosnian Muslim father. The supporter could be heard calling the forward 'Balija', which is an ethnic slur for people from Bosnia that has been used for years by Serb nationalists

In a statement, the Serbian club said: 'Red Star vehemently condemns abusive chants to Zlatan Ibrahimovic during the Europa League match with AC Milan.

'The club did everything in its power to organise the event on a high level and we will not allow a primitive individual to stain Serbia's traditional hospitality.

'We will work with the authorities to identify the offender and we will also insist that he is punished to the full extent of the law.

'Red Star again sincerely apologises to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and we stress that the club will have zero tolerance for such outbursts in the future.'

Zlatan did not react to the abuse that was directed towards him. Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries used to be part of Yugoslavia before the country's breakup in the early 1990s.

There was a series of wars between several of the countries in the early 1990s.

The match in Belgrade ended in a 2-2 draw with the Serbian's scoring a last-minute equaliser.

The second leg will take place at the San Siro next Thursday.

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