The group of Russia supporters who posed for pictures Srdjan Djokovic were holding a Russian flag with Vladimir Putin’s face on it Image Courtesy AP
Melbourne: Serbia star Novak Djokovic found himself at the centre of a controversy at the ongoing Australian Open tennis tournament when his father Srdjan posed for pictures with a group of supporters of Russia president Vladimir Putin.
The incident took place on Wednesday night after Novak Djokovic had beaten Andrey Rublev of Russia to reach the semi-finals of the men’s singles competition.
The group of Russia supporters who posed for pictures Srdjan Djokovic were holding a Russian flag with Vladimir Putin’s face on it. One of them was also wearing a T-shirt bearing the ‘Z’ symbol, which is being used by the Russian military during the war in Ukraine and is used as a symbol of support by Russian supporters around the world.
While leaving, Srdjan appears to have said “zivejli Russiyani” to the man wearing the T-shirt wearing the ‘Z’ symbol in an apparent show of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While posing with Srdjan, the man with the flag also sent out greets for Alexander Zaldostanov – the leader of the motorcycle gang ‘Night Wolves’ who are known to be supporters of Vladimir Putin.
“From Melbourne, Australia to our brothers in Moscow,” the man said during the message to Zaldostanov.
Following the incident, organisers at the Australian Open briefed all the players and reminded of the tournament’s policy regarding flags and emblems.
“A small group of people displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards following a match on Wednesday night and were evicted. One patron is now assisting police with unrelated matters,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.”Players and their teams have been briefed and reminded of the event policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has the potential to disrupt. We continue to work closely with event security and law enforcement agencies,” the statement added.
Several fans indulged in rowdy behaviour outside the stadium just before the start of the match, chanting “Russia Serbia” and other slogans in support of Vladimir Putin.
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