Vandals have tried to topple a statue of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic outside Malmo Stadium in Sweden by sawing at its feet, prompting police to erect a fence around it, the BBC has reported.
The statue has been a target of angry fans at Ibrahimovic's hometown club ever since Sweden's record international goalscorer announced he had acquired a stake in a rival team.
Ibrahimovic made his name at Malmo FF before a trophy-laden career abroad but the announcement that he had taken a nearly 25% stake in Stockholm club Hammarby led Malmo fans to vent their ire on the 3.5-metre tall statue outside their club.
Ibrahimovic's statue outside Malmo's stadium was set on fire last month.
Fans scorched the statue with flares and sprayed racist messages on the ground nearby hours after the announcement on Nov. 27.
A Malmo police spokeswoman told the BBC that vandals had placed a rope around the neck of the statue in the early hours of Thursday morning and tried to saw through its feet.
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"There is a risk now it could fall and we have placed a fence around it," the spokeswoman added.
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