A former national athletics coach, Ulf Karlsson, was on Monday convicted by a Swedish court for slandering former Juventus star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic while suggesting he took steroids when he played for the Italian club from 2004 to 2006.
During a public debate on doping in April, Karlsson said the striker had “put on 10 kilos [22 pounds] of muscle mass … in one year.”
Although Karlsson pleaded not guilty, the Karlstad court ruled that the remarks had been damaging to the player’s reputation.
He was further ordered to pay a fine of 24,000 kronor (2,500 euros, $2,645).
The court wrote in its verdict, “Even if his remarks do not contain a direct accusation that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had taken steroids, the court finds that these remarks, given the context in which they were made, cannot be taken any other way than to give the impression that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have taken steroids during his time at Juventus.”
The 35-year-old former Swedish captain has played for clubs such as Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain and now plies his tread with Manchester United.
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