Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be eligible to take part in Friday’s El Trafico clash between the LA Galaxy and runaway league leaders LAFC (10 pm ET | ESPN in US, TSN2 in Canada), MLS confirmed, despite the Swedish superstar picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the final moments of the Galaxy’s 3-1 home loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday.
As first reported by the Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Baxter, Ibrahimovic will not be suspended for accumulation because he already picked up a suspension for one of those prior cautions, a yellow card awarded for his tangle with New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson on May 11.
The veteran striker was subsequently fined and suspended two games for that incident, deemed violent conduct by the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
The Galaxy's leading scorer this season with 13 goals in 16 league matches, Ibrahimovic famously made his MLS debut in the first-ever meeting between the two Southern California clubs, scoring two goals off the bench to lead the Galaxy’s wild 4-3 comeback victory on March 31, 2018.
