Novak’s father is in controversy for posing with individuals waving the Russian Flag

By | Bullscore 1 Feb, 2023

Novak’s father is in controversy for posing with individuals waving the Russian Flag

The Ambassador of Ukraine in Australia condemned the scenes as “a disgrace” on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic won his match against Russia’s Andrey Rublev easily and is now in the semi-final of the tournament. The match was played on Wednesday at the Rod Laver Arena.

Some people at the match unfurled Russian flags near the stadium, and one of the flags had a picture of Vladimir Putin on it. They also shouted support for Russia.

Tennis Australia said that four people showed flags and symbols that were not allowed and also threatened security guards. The police were called and the people were removed from the park.

A person who supports Russia posted a video on social media showing Novak Djokovic’s father standing next to a man holding a flag with a picture of Vladimir Putin on it.

When uploaded the image was captioned:

“Novak Djokovic’s father makes a bold political statement.”

Reporters from Serbia confirmed that the person in the video is likely Djokovic’s father. The Melbourne Age newspaper reported that he said “Long live Russia” in Serbian.

Spectators are not allowed to have Russian or Belarusian flags at the Grand Slam tournament. This rule was made after the Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, asked for action when Russian flags were seen in the crowd last week.

He said on Twitter Thursday that the latest incident was shameful.

“It’s a full package. Among the Serbian flags, there is a Russian flag, Putin, Z-symbol, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic flag,” he tweeted with a link to the video.

“It’s such a disgrace … @TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen.”

Another person was seen inside the stadium during Djokovic’s match wearing a shirt with a pro-war “Z” symbol, which is related to supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This symbol is taken from the letter “Z” that is painted on Russian tanks to make them different from Ukrainian tanks. The symbol has become popular with Russian people who support their country.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, players from Russia and Belarus are only allowed to compete under a neutral white flag and not as representatives of their countries, as is the case at the Australian Open.