In the first match of the round of 1/16 finals of the UEFA Europa League, Italian Milan went to the away game against the reigning champion of Serbia - Crvena Zvezda, on the field of which he could not hold the lead twice during the match (2: 2).

However, in addition to what was happening directly on the football field, there was a football episode in this game, after which the side of the owners of the stadium Raiko Mitic had to apologize to the Swedish striker “Rossoneri” Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The experienced striker did not make the starting lineup of his team, and as a result, he did not enter the field until the final whistle, however, while the Swede was on the bench, he received discriminatory insults from one of the fans in the stands.

The reason for this was Ibrahimovic's Bosnian roots, and relations between Serbs and representatives of this country seriously deteriorated even before the start of the Yugoslav military conflicts (1991 - 2001).

To the credit of Crvena Zvezda, the club reacted to the incident quickly enough by publishing a statement, quoted by the Goal resource. com.

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The club has done everything in its power to organize the event at a high level, and we will not allow primitive people in the stands to tarnish the traditional Serbian hospitality.

We will work with the authorities to establish the identity of the perpetrator and insist that he be punished in accordance with the law.

Crvena Zvezda expresses its sincere apologies to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and we emphasize that the club will not tolerate such episodes in the future, "

The Milan striker was born in Sweden to a Catholic Croatian father who is a Bosnian Muslim. The fan who insulted Ibrahimovic used a derogatory term for Bosnian Muslims, while the footballer himself showed decent restraint, and did not react to the camera in any way to this episode.

The return leg between Milan and Crvena Zvezda will take place on February 25 at San Siro.