This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
On November 27, 2019, Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced that he had acquired a nearly 25% stake in Stockholm club Hammarby, leading to a backlash from fans of his hometown club, Malmo FF.
Angry fans had already vandalized the 3.5-metre tall statue of Ibrahimovic outside Malmo Stadium in Sweden by scorching it with flares and spraying racist messages on the ground nearby.
However, in the early hours of Thursday morning, vandals took their attack to the next level by placing a rope around the neck of the statue and trying to saw through its feet.
A Malmo police spokeswoman told the BBC that there is a risk the statue could fall and that a fence has been erected around it to prevent any further damage.
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