Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku were involved in an explosive clash in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal derby between AC Milan and Inter with the Swede enraging the Belgian after referring to his mother and voodoo.
The pair – who are former Manchester United teammates – confronted each other at the end of the first half, when what started with an exchange of words escalated into the butting of heads.
As the verbal exchange continued, Lukaku threatened to see the giant Swede "inside," to which the smiling Ibrahimovic appeared to reply: “Call your mother. Go and do your voodoo sh*t."
The Swede is also said to have branded Lukaku a "little donkey.”
The comments enraged the Inter Milan forward, who was heard yelling: “You want to speak about my mother!?”
“F*ck you and your wife, you little b*tch,” added the infuriated Lukaku as he was held back by his teammates.
Both men were booked and the teams eventually made their way down the tunnel for the half-time break.
Ibrahimovic’s apparent reference to voodoo likely comes from a story during Lukaku’s time at Everton, when majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said that the Belgian had refused to extend his contract after a voodoo message told him to join Chelsea.
“He said he was on a pilgrimage in Africa or somewhere and he had a voodoo and he got the message that he needs to go to Chelsea,” Moshiri had claimed.
Lukaku – who is Catholic – angrily denied the story and threatened to sue Moshiri. He ended up leaving Everton for Manchester United, where he played alongside Ibrahimovic for just under one season.
When Ibrahimovic returned to Italy with AC Milan in December 2019, he and Lukaku traded digs on social media.
After Inter forward Lukaku had tweeted there was a new “king” in the city, Ibrahimovic later fired back with a picture of himself and the message: “Milan never had a king, only a God.”
Also on rt.com 'Milan NEVER had a king': Zlatan declares he's GOD in attack on ace Lukaku after recovering from coronavirus for Italian derby winAccording to Sky Sports Italia, Ibrahimovic asserted that his “voodoo” comments towards Lukaku on Tuesday night were not racist.
Social media, meanwhile, saw the clash between the giant 39-year-old Swede and his big Belgian rival, 27, as being a match-up they would pay to see in the cage or ring, as well as on the football pitch.
Ibrahimovic had put Milan in front on Tuesday night with a superb finish into the bottom corner in the 31st minute.
But the incendiary action at the San Siro continued to bubble after half-time when Ibrahimovic saw red in the 58th minute after picking up a second yellow card for a tangle with Inter defender Aleksandar Kolarov.
That flipped the game in Inter’s favor, and Lukaku exacted revenge by converting a 71st-minute penalty after Nicolo Barella was brought down in the box by Rafael Leao.
Inter playmaker Christian Eriksen – who has been strongly linked with an exit from the club during the January transfer window – was then the hero as he curled a superb free-kick into the top corner deep into injury time to win the game 2-1 and send Inter into the semi-finals.
The two great Milan rivals are also slugging it out at the top of the Serie A table, where AC Milan are top on 43 points, two ahead of Inter. Both are looking to end the dominance of Juventus, who have won the last nine Scudettos.
This season Andrea Pirlo’s team are facing a fight to retain their title, and find themselves fourth, seven points adrift of the top but with a game in hand.
AC Milan and Inter are next set to clash in Serie A on February 21, when fans will be watching out for more fireworks between Ibrahimovic and erstwhile teammate Lukaku.