Tennis Australia banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Australian Open after a Russian flag was displayed courtside during a first-round women’s singles match Monday between Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine and Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia.
Monday that he “strongly” condemned the display of the flag and called for Tennis Australia to enforce the tournament’s neutral flag policy., a local newspaper in Australia, that they had summoned police and security out of their belief that Russian supporters were intimidating Baindl. “This is profoundly unsafe. The war is ongoing,” one fan told the newspaper. “It’s a small court. The guys were extremely close to the players. So there was an element of what I felt was intimidation.
One of the Russian boosters told the Age that they were merely expressing support for Rakhimova, who had only her mother in her supporters’ box. “People can view that as being obnoxious, but we were just being your normal supporters,” said Eugene Routman, a 36-year-old fan who wore a “Mother Russia” T-shirt that bore the image of a shirtless Vladimir Putin with devil horns on horseback. “There was no ridiculing or disrespect.
Routman, who said he was born in Moscow but moved to Australia when he was 5, added: “Sport has nothing to do with politics, and politics should have nothing to do with sport. It’s a tennis game. You’re punishing the tennis players who probably are against the war but they can’t speak because Russia’s not a democracy.”Jancinta Allen, acting premier of Melbourne’s Victorian state government, praised the decision by Tennis Australia. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is abhorrent,” she said,.
Aryna Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Belarus, told reporters that, while she prefers to keep politics and sports separate, she understands Tennis Australia’s decision. “I mean, if everyone feels better this way, then it’s okay,” said Sabalenka, the tournament’s fifth seed. “I have zero control on it. What can I say? They did it. Okay. No flags? No flags.”
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Russian and Belarusian Flags Banned at Australian Open Tournament Site🎾 Flags from Russia and Belarus were banned from the site of the AustralianOpen after more than one was brought into the stands by spectators on Day 1 of the year's first Grand Slam tournament.
Lire la suite »
Russian flags banned at Australian Open tennis after Ukraine complaintRussian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the Melbourne Park precinct during the Australian Open after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country.
Lire la suite »
Ukraine's ambassador to Australia condemns Russian flag display at the Australian Open | CNNUkraine's ambassador to Australia has 'strongly condemn[ed]' the Russian flag being displayed in the stands at the Australian Open.
Lire la suite »
Fans Taunt Ukrainian Tennis Star with Banned Russian Flag at Australian OpenEven though Team Australia had banned the flying of Russian and Belarus flags during the competition to avoid tension, the Russian flag was still spotted during the match between fifth seed Andrey Rublev and Dominic Thiem.
Lire la suite »
Australian Open bans Russian flag after 'incident'Tennis Australia banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Australian Open after a Russian flag hanging courtside during Monday’s first-round match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova sparked controversy. More:
Lire la suite »