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Zlatan Ibrahimovic accused of elbowing David Alaba

Zlatan Ibrahimovic joked that he should be given a 40-game ban after he was accused of elbowing David Alaba during Sweden's 1-1 draw with Austria on Monday.

- Toe Poke: Don't touch the Zlatan

Ibrahimovic's arm appeared to strike Alaba in the face during the 20th minute of the Euro 2016 qualifier, with the Bayern Munich player falling to the ground after the contact.

The incident led to a free kick for Austria, while Ibrahimovic was booked minutes later for a separate foul on Martin Harnik.

Austria defender Aleksandar Dragovic, though, believes the Paris Saint-Germain striker should have been punished for the first foul, adding that referee Pavel Kralovec had been too scared to send him off.

"He should have received the red card for it, but the referee was afraid. But the referee should not be our excuse, we did not make use of our chances," he said.

Austria coach Marcel Koller added: "I have seen it on the TV. You don't actually see what Zlatan does, but David's head goes back, which it usually doesn't, thus something must have happened."

Asked about the incident after the match, Ibrahimovic jested that he should be severely punished for his actions, saying sarcastically: "I should be banned for 40 matches."

He also told Swedish reporters that there was no intent to attack his opponent.

"The referee sees that Alaba attacks me twice, and the third time all I tried to do is to shield the ball from him. He's 1.5-1.6 metres [4.11-5.3 feet] tall -- it's clear that he reaches towards my elbow," he said of Alaba, who is actually 1.8 metres [5.11 feet] tall.