Search icon

Football

27th Jan 2021

Furious Romelu Lukaku held back after clashing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Simon Lloyd

The former Manchester United pair were involved in a heated argument

Romelu Lukaku had to be held back after clashing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during Tuesday’s Milan derby.

The pair, who were both teammates for a brief while at Manchester United, were seen (and heard) in a heated exchange shortly before half-time in the Coppa Italia clash between AC Milan and Inter Milan, briefly squaring up to each other before teammates intervened.

While both men received a yellow card for their troubles, it did little to quell the tension – with Lukaku appearing particularly furious as the teams left the field for half-time, having to be held back by teammates.

Ibrahimovic, who appeared to call Lukaku a “donkey” at one stage of the row, had given Milan the lead just after the half-hour mark, though it isn’t immediately clear what triggered the clash between the strikers.

Though both players escaped further punishment before the second 45 started, Ibrahimovic lasted a mere 13 minutes of the second after he was given a second yellow card for a foul.

Lukaku was later responsible for Inter’s equaliser, emphatically smashing home a penalty to level things up.