Novak Djokovic’s parents, father Srdjan Djokovic (L) and mother Dijana Djokovic. (Photo by David Gray/AFP)
by Novak Djokovic father has been filmed posing with fans waving banned Russian flags at the Australian Open, including one with Vladimir Putin, in scenes Ukraine’s ambassador on Thursday called “an embarrassment.”
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Serbian star Djokovic had just booked his place in the tournament’s semifinal with a straight-set thrashing of Russian opponent Andrey Rublev at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.
After the match, a group of fans unfurled Russian flags, which are banned in Melbourne Park, near the stadium and chanted pro-Russian and pro-Putin slogans.
Tennis Australia said four people “unveiled inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards”. The police were called and they were thrown out of Melbourne Park.
A video later posted on a pro-Russian Australian YouTube account showed Djokovic’s father. srdjan posing with a man holding a Russian flag with the image of President Putin.
The man with the flag is wearing a black T-shirt with a “Z” on it, a symbol supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The video is captioned: “Novak Djokovic’s father makes a bold political statement.”
Serbian tennis reporters confirmed that he was Djokovic’s father and the Melbourne Age newspaper reported that he said in Serbian: “Long live Russia.”
Spectators are prohibited from having Russian or Belarusian flags at the Grand Slam after Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, demanded action when seen in the crowd last week.
At the time, the Russian embassy in Australia responded, calling it “another example of the unacceptable politicization of sports.”
Myroshnychenko said on Twitter on Thursday that the latest incident was shameful.
“It is a complete package. Among the Serbian flags, there are: a Russian flag, Putin, the Z symbol, the so-called flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” he tweeted with a link to the video.
“It’s a disgrace… @TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen.”
Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko, who was defeated in the first round of the Australian Open, tweeted: “I have no words to say.”
Another man was photographed by AFP inside the stadium during Djokovic’s match wearing a T-shirt with the pro-war “Z” symbol on it.
Former Ukrainian player Alex Dolgopolov, currently fighting in the war, asked on Twitter: “This guy is going to be banned for life, at least for all Australian events right? @AustralianOpen.”
Honor
Ahead of the Djokovic-Rublev match, Simeon Boikov, who runs the YouTube channel that posted the footage, urged Russian fans to come to Melbourne Park to protest the flag ban.
“This is about honor and dignity now. This is an attack on honor and dignity. This has nothing to do with the war,” she said in a video message.
“The Russian empire has banned their flag,” he added. “Well guess what Tennis Australia? Good luck when the empire strikes back.”
Tournament organizer Tennis Australia said on Thursday it would safely continue to work to enforce the entry rules, without directly addressing the incident with Djokovic’s father.
“The players and their teams have been informed and reminded of the event policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has the potential to be disruptive,” it said.
“We continue to work closely with law enforcement and event security agencies.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players have typically competed under a neutral white flag as independents, as is the case at the Australian Open.
