Amazing controversy at the Australian Open in tennis. Srdjan Djokovic announced on Friday that he would refrain from attending his son Novak’s next game after suffering numerous criticisms of his actions in recent days.

“I’m only here to support my son. I didn’t want to make headlines or cause disruption (…) I decided to watch the game from home so that my son and his opponent weren’t disturbed during the semifinals.Srdjan Djokovic wrote in a press release, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse.

A video posted to a pro-Russian Australian YouTube account on Thursday showed Srdjan Djokovic posing outside the stadium with a man holding a Russian flag with President Vladimir Putin’s face on it. The man was wearing a T-shirt with the Russian war symbol on it “Z”.

The Ukrainian ambassador in Canberra, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, had asked the competition organizers to revoke Srdjan Djokovic’s accreditation after the video was broadcast. Mr Myroshnychenko also called on Novak Djokovic, who is preparing to face American Tommy Paul in the tournament’s semifinals, to personally apologize and clarify his position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It is important that Novak addresses this situation”he insisted. “He should apologize for what happened and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. »

Last week, Ambassador Myroshnychenko helped persuade Australian Open organizers to ban Russian and Belarusian flags from the stands during the tournament. The Russian Embassy in Australia called the ban a “New example of unacceptable politicization of sport”.

Former Ukrainian player Alex Dolgopolov, who is currently fighting with his country’s army, called Djokovic’s father’s behavior on Twitter a“absolutely disgusting”. He is “very annoying” To see Novak Djokovic’s father alongside supporters waving pro-Russian flags, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk reacted to the Australian Open on Friday. “It doesn’t matter who you are, nobody has the right” waving those flags,” said Kostyuk, 20, after losing the semifinals in women’s doubles. “Something like this shouldn’t remain in the shadows”she insisted. “It’s very annoying. »

On Wednesday night, a group of Russian fans defied the ban at Melbourne Park, even loudly chanting pro-Russian and pro-Putin slogans. Simeon Boikov, an Australian pro-Putin activist behind the YouTube video, had urged Russian fans to come down near the stadium hosting the tournament ahead of Djokovic’s quarter-final match against Andrey Rublev on Wednesday. “Now it’s about honor and dignity. It is an attack on honor and dignity. It has nothing to do with the war”he said in a video message, apparently alluding to the ban on Russian flags.