Malmö FF's captain Pontus Jansson is featured in a group chat with suspected hooligans and is being internally investigated.
The scandal is shaking the club – which is putting a lid on it.
The group chat is part of an investigation into a hooligan brawl in Stockholm last year. On Monday, charges were brought against 12 people for rioting.
In the chat, one of the accused expresses himself grossly antisemitically, and Jansson, who is not suspected of a crime, according to the investigation, responds with four laughing emojis.
Later on Monday, an alternative version with multiple posts between the antisemitic utterance and Jansson's response began spreading on the internet.
Prosecutor Henrik Nordquist has said that he takes the information very seriously and that they will check to see if there are any missing posts.
The former national team player informed MFF himself before the charges were made public. He was sidelined from the match against Brommapojkarna (2-2) last weekend and the club launched an internal investigation.
"Malmö FF takes the matter very seriously," the club wrote on its website.
Pontus Jansson has also asked for forgiveness on Instagram. In an interview on MFF's website, he says that parts of the chat group are friends he has known for many years, but he distances himself from "the jargon".
Allsvenskan is now taking a break for the European Championship, with MFF leading the series, and the players are waiting for a two-week summer break. The chairman, Anders Pålsson, refuses to answer whether the captain will return to the pitch after the break.
When will you answer questions?
