The State Duma did not rule out that the ban on Russian flags in the stands of the AO may be illegal

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Dmitry Svishchev admits that the ban of the organizers of the Australian Open to come to the stands with the flags of Russia and Belarus may be illegal.

– This was done, one might say, on a slander, a completely unreasonable demand of the Ambassador of Ukraine in Australia. Of course, it is very disappointing that the representatives of the tournament still could not withstand the pressure. Personally, I do not see anything wrong with the fact that Russian fans with flags came to support their idols. Perhaps they were relatives of the athletes themselves. We do not know. Moreover, in the grid they appear precisely as representatives of Russia, and not as neutral athletes.

I don’t think that our fans violated something. Unfortunately, the Russophobic company has overwhelmed the media, including sports. The organizers are trying to minimize the risks, so they decided not to allow spectators with Russian flags into the stands. In my opinion, this is at least unreasonable. Or maybe it’s prohibited by law,” the deputy added, “Svishchev said in an interview with RT.

Russian flags were seen during the first round match between Ukrainian Ekaterina Beindl and Russian Kamilla Rakhimova, as well as during the duel between Daniil Medvedev and American Marcos Giron.