(Melbourne) The father of Serbian Novak Djokovic was filmed with supporters waving pro-Russian flags during the Australian Open, scenes described as “shameful” by the Ukrainian ambassador in Canberra.
After Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final match won Wednesday night against Russia’s Andrey Rublev, a group of supporters unfurled Russian flags, including one bearing the face of President Vladimir Putin, near the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, while chanting pro-Russian slogans.
The Australian Tennis Federation said four people “displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards” at Melbourne Park before being chased away by police.
A video later posted on a pro-Russian Australian YouTube channel showed Srdjan Djokovic, the player’s father, posing with the man waving the flag with Putin’s face. All with the caption: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes a bold political statement”.
Serbian sports journalists have confirmed that it was indeed Djokovic father.
Spectators are banned from Russian or Belarusian flags during the tournament. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, had demanded action be taken after several of these flags were seen in crowds last week.
“It’s a complete catalog. Among the Serbian flags are: a Russian flag, Putin, the Z symbol, the so-called flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” he tweeted Thursday with a link to the video. “It’s really shameful,” he said indignantly to the attention of the Australian Federation and the tournament organizers.
Another spectator was photographed by AFP inside the stadium during Djokovic’s game wearing a T-shirt bearing the ‘Z’ symbol, a pro-war symbol associated with support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .
Before the Djokovic-Rublev match, Simeon Boikov, who hosts the YouTube channel that posted the video featuring the Serbian champion’s father, called on Russian fans to come to Melbourne Park, the venue that hosts the Australian Open , in protest against the flag ban.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Russian and Belarusian tennis players generally participate in competitions under a neutral flag and as independents.
