Novak Djokovic will NOT be sanctioned after controversial anti-Kosovo message… but the French Tennis Federation suggest there will be a reminder to the World No 3 about Grand Slam regulations
- Novak Djokovic’s commentary on Kosovo was decided to be ‘understandable’
- Kosovo’s independence is not recognised by the World No 3’s native Serbia
- Djokovic sparked a political row by writing an anti-Kosovo message on a camera
Novak Djokovic will not be sanctioned for his latest political pronouncement about Kosovo, with French Open chiefs saying that such commentary from players is ‘understandable’.
However, the French Tennis Federation also suggested that there will be a reminder to him about Grand Slam regulations, which minimally discourage players from making statements about controversial topics outside the sport.
On Monday following his first round victory, Djokovic scribbled on a courtside camera lens ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia! Stop the violence.’
His message came amid rising tensions and outbreaks of rioting in the territory, whose independence Serbia does not recognise.
A somewhat woolly statement from the French Open last night made no reference to the Wimbledon champion specifically.
Serbian Novak Djokovic will not be sanctioned for his political pronouncement about Kosovo
The World No 3 scrawled a message on a camera after his first round win at the French Open
It did, however, reference rules at the Majors, adding: ‘Messages are passed on to the teams of any players concerned by such matters.’
The authorities are effectively hamstrung in implementing their own regulations at present because of the amount of questions from the media about the whole Russia and Ukraine situation.
Every Ukrainian player would fall foul of such rules in the current climate, but there are other recent precedents of leniency being shown.
At the Australian Open Russian Karen Khachanov wrote on a camera in support of Armenian claims to Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave of Azerbaijan.
The French Tennis Federation suggested they will remind him about Grand Slam regulations
The same tournament saw Djokovic’s father pose in front a flag with Vladimir Putin’s head on it, alongside pro-Russia Serbian fans.
The head of the Kosovan tennis association called for the player to be sanctioned, but with no players from the territory there is a negligible chance of that happening for now.
At this summer’s Wimbledon, Russian and Belarussian players must sign a separate pledge of neutrality as a condition of them taking part.
That is one instance when a breach is likely to result in serious consequences for anyone who speaks in favour of the war.
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