Nose sawed off Ibrahimovic's statue in Malmo

Stockholm (Sweden), Dec 23 (IANS) The statue of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which was built in his honour by his boyhood club Malmo outside their stadium in the city of Malmo, continues to bare the brunt of fans of the club.In what is the latest alleged act of vandalism, images show the statue missing its nose. Ibrahimovic (38) angered the fans of the club when he bought a stake in one of its rivals, the Stockholm-based Hammarby, and stated that he wanted to make the club "the greatest in Scandinavia."Hours after the announcement, vandals started attacking the statue. There have been racist graffiti written on it and attempts have been made to saw off its leg and even set it on fire. A petition for the removal of the statue has reportedly drawn more than 8,000 signatures.
--IANS rkm/arm