Zlatan Ibrahimovic would face a potential three-year ban from football, forcing him to retire early.
The Swedish striker, who turns 40 in October, risks seeing his career end abruptly and unceremoniously.
The sun and The daily mail quote swedish newspaper Aftonbladet as reporting that Zlatan may be in difficulty investing in a Malta-based betting company.
Ibrahimovic owns 10 percent of Bethard, a gambling company with offices in Malta, through his company Unknown AB.
However, neither FIFA nor UEFA allow players participating in their competitions to have financial interests in gaming companies.
The Sun claims that FIFA’s ethical rules state that anyone who breaks the rules faces a fine and a ban on all football-related activities for up to three years.
The original report also details that the Swedish Football Association has known about the issue for three years and that is why the world-class forward was not called up for the 2018 World Cup.
Zlatan retired from international football in 2016 before making a shock return to Sweden in March.
Despite his years of advancement, the striker is still an extremely effective goalscorer. In 25 appearances for AC Milan this season, Ibra has scored 17 goals.
Zlatan was first announced as Ambassador and Co-owner of Bethard in 2018.
“I have obviously been intensely courted by betting companies throughout my career, but so far I have not faced anything that has triggered me,” he told the time.
“With Bethard there was something different. It’s a Swedish-born company, the founders are from my hometown and they are real challengers who really want to do things differently.
Swedish FA General Secretary Hakan Sjjstrand said this week: “I am not speculating on possible sanctions.
“But of course keep pushing for clarity in Fifa’s rules because there is frankly a lot of ambiguity in how this is to be interpreted.”
It would be a huge shame if this resulted in the end of Zlatan’s illustrious career.
As it stands, the forward is still expected to play for Sweden at Euro 2020 this summer.
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