The Australian Open tennis championship did not have time to start, as the first scandal flared up on it.
And it was caused by the dissatisfaction of Ukrainian fans and officials with the presence of the Russian flag in the stands.
As you know, tennis is one of the few sports where athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus are allowed to take part in tournaments.
By and large, there is only one requirement for them - performance in a neutral status.
But the ban on the use of national paraphernalia by fans is not specified anywhere.
It was not mentioned about him in the statement of the organizers of the Australian Open, distributed shortly before the tournament.
Then, we recall, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia, Vasily Miroshnichenko, called for the removal of a group of tennis players from the competition, but was refused.
“Athletes from Russia and Belarus can take part in international competitions only in the individual competition, as well as without flags or mentioning countries.
These rules also apply to the Australian Open,” said the tournament organizers from Tennis Australia.
On the first day of the competition, Russian Kamilla Rakhimova met with Ukrainian Katerina Beindl, and the fans hung out a tricolor in the stands.
According to Tennis Australia, Ukrainian fans called the police and security services to the court 14 times in connection with this.
At the same time, no aggression of domestic tennis fans against others was reported, and the indignation, apparently, was explained by the very fact of the presence of the flag.
These same fans were later seen at Daniil Medvedev's match.
Meanwhile, different types of national symbols of other countries were observed at all the stadiums, and this did not bother anyone.
Fans of Borna Coric were dressed in red and white "chess" T-shirts, and the flags of South Africa and Italy fluttered with might and main at the match between Lloyd Harris and Lorenzo Musetti.
The tricolor also caused discontent among Miroshnichenko, who on Twitter called on the organizers to immediately apply the “neutral flag” policy.
As a result, the local federation did not find anything better than to introduce a total ban.
“Our initial approach was that the fans could bring the flags, but they couldn't wave them to create an inconvenience.
Yesterday we had an incident where a flag was flown by the court... The ban takes effect immediately.
We will continue to work with the players and our fans to provide the best possible environment to enjoy tennis,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.
The Russian Embassy in Australia called this decision another example of the unacceptable politicization of sports.
“In addition to discriminating against Russian tennis players who are forced to play under a “neutral flag”, Tennis Australia has gone even further, now forbidding fans in the stands to show support for our athletes.
It is unfortunate that the organizers of the tournament succumbed to outright political manipulation to the detriment of the spirit of fair play that was once inherent in the Australian Open," head of the diplomatic mission Alexei Pavlovsky told TASS.
In turn, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Dmitry Svishchev, recalled that in the regulation on the organization of competitions there is no rule prohibiting coming to the stands with the flags of the country participating in the tournament.
“This was done, one might say, on a slander, a completely unreasonable demand of the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia.
It's a shame that the representatives of the tournament 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 don’t know, ”said the interlocutor of RT.
At the same time, he stressed that he is grateful to the leadership of the ATP and WTA, which still demonstrates independence and does not succumb to the Russophobic campaign.
“Many federations cannot withstand the pressure exerted by the International Olympic Committee.
Its head, Thomas Bach, regularly makes calls to prevent Russian athletes from participating in international competitions.
Tennis associations have taken a tough stance and continue to defend the interests of athletes regardless of their nationality.
It deserves respect,” said Svishchev.
According to the deputy, the decision of the organizers of the joint-stock company may affect the results of domestic tennis players in the tournament.
“Of course it's annoying.
Of course, they read both the press and all kinds of publics.
And it leaves a certain imprint on the performance.
I want to draw the attention of the fans to the need to treat our players with love, not to succumb to provocations.
You can get sick in different ways, and times are difficult now.
Therefore, the main thing is not to harm,” he concluded.
And the honored coach of Russia Vladimir Kamelzon, on the contrary, considered that no external factors should have an impact on the players.
At the same time, he called what is happening a consequence of a “strange” and “crazy” policy, and also called on the organizers and participants to focus exclusively on tennis.
“Athletes have nothing to do with it.
Spectators who sympathize with Russia brought these flags to the stands.
Are they the only ones who have a positive attitude towards our country?
All of Europe already understands that there is no life without Russia.
The players themselves have nothing to worry about.
As we were taught, the business of a tennis player is to drive the ball over the net, glorify Russian sports and earn money.
Daniil Medvedev will not go to the podium for the tricolor.
He won’t tell the fan: “Remove the flag, otherwise they will remove me from the competition,” Kamelzon said in a conversation with RT.
From the side of the athletes, the representative of Belarus Arina Sobolenko expressed her opinion.
The fifth racket of the world reacted philosophically to what was happening and noted that the decisions of the tournament organizers are beyond the control of the athletes, so they can only accept it.
“I sincerely believed that tennis - not even tennis, sports in general - is out of politics, but, well, if it makes it easier for everyone, then fine.
I can't influence it in any way.
What can I say?
This is the decision they made.
Without flags, so without flags, ”the athlete said at a press conference.