The sports world largely reacted to the war in Ukraine. Russians and Belarusians are excluded from many sports, but not in tennis. Players on the courts are not only allowed to use their national flags. This also applies to fans from these countries.
Fiesta of the Russians after Djokovic’s match
So much for the theory, because in practice during the match between Serbian Novak Djokovic and Russian Andrei Rublev, Russian fans brought to the stands not only flags, but also images of Putin or T-shirts with the “Z” symbol commonly associated with the attack on Ukraine. After the match, fans chanted “Russia, Serbia, brothers” and other chants praising the war outside the tennis stadium.
Four fans were kicked out by the Australian Open organizers for chanting Putin’s name and displaying flags, although there were many more people in the “celebration”, as evidenced by videos and photos from Melbourne.
Djokovic’s father pictured with Putin supporters
As if that wasn’t enough, the inews.co.uk portal reported that Novak Djokovic’s father was filmed posing for a photo with a Russian fan holding a flag with Putin and wearing a pro-Russian “Z” T-shirt.
After taking the photo, Srdjan Djokovic says goodbye with the words “zivejli Russiyani”, which is then repeated by the men in the photo. “Zivejli” is a Serbo-Croatian word meaning “cheers”, while “Russiyani” refers to Russian citizens, and the whole thing can be translated as “long live the Russians”.
You can also hear a man with a flag with the image of Putin, with whom Djokovic posed, sends greetings to Alexander Zaldostanov “from Melbourne, Australia to our brothers in Moscow.” Zaldostanov is the leader of the “Night Wolves” biker allies, nicknamed “Putin’s Angels” in the media, whose flag has also been spotted outside the Rod Laver Arena.
The organizers of the Australian Open issued a statement on the matter. “A small number of people displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards after the match, for which they were ejected from the tournament grounds. Tennis players and their teams were reminded of the rules regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that could disrupt the event. We continue to work closely with protection and law enforcement agencies.
“It’s about honor and dignity”
According to inews.co.uk, a video with Djokovic’s father was published on the YouTube channel “Aussie Cossack” run by 32-year-old Simeon Boykov. A few days ago, Boykov was issued an arrest warrant in Australia for allegedly assaulting a 76-year-old man at a pro-Ukraine rally in Sydney.
Ahead of Djokovic’s match with Rublev, Boykov posted a monologue calling on all Russian fans to “retaliate” in Melbourne after tournament organizers threw Russian flags from the venue. It’s an attack on honor and dignity. It has nothing to do with war. This is an attack on freedom in Australia. It’s discrimination, racism. Banning flags is illegal, he said.
Djokovic beat Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to his 10th Australian Open semi-final. On Friday, he will face American Tommy Paul in the final match. In March last year, the Serbian tennis player supported the former Ukrainian player Serhiy Stakhovsky, who is fighting on the front in Donbass. Then, however, he was against the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian tennis players by the Wimbledon authorities.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
