No place for racism in Zlatan's world: Ibrahimovic

AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, left, and Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku argue during an Italian Cup round of 8 soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (AP)

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has defended himself against accusations he aimed racist comments at Inter's Romelu Lukaku during the Coppa Italia quarter-final on Tuesday, saying there is no place for racism in "Zlatan's world".

Ibrahimovic and Lukaku, who played together at Manchester United, exchanged words at the end of the first half before the pair had to be restrained as the players left the pitch for the interval.

The referee cautioned the duo before giving Ibrahimovic another yellow card and a red after the restart for a foul on Aleksandar Kolarov. AC Milan went on to lose 2-1.

AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, center left, and Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku, center right, argue during an Italian Cup round of 8 soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (AP )

The BBC reported that a pitchside microphone had picked up Ibrahimovic saying "go do your voodoo" to Lukaku, an apparent reference to 2018 comments from Everton owner Farhad Moshiri that the Belgian turned down an offer to stay in Merseyside on the advice of a "voodoo message."

However, Ibrahimovic said on Twitter: "In Zlatan's world there is no place for racism.

"We are all the same race - we are all equal. We're all players some better then others.

Sky Sports reported that the Italian Football Federation is likely to make a decision on the matter on Friday.