Australian police on Wednesday arrested four Russian fans for displaying inappropriate flags and symbols and threatening security at the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne.
Last week, the organization banned the display of Russian flags in Melbourne Park facilities after criticism of the presence of symbols of that country during a match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova.
In a video posted on social media, a group of spectators raise Russian flags, one with the face of President Vladimir Putin, on the edge of the Rod Laver Arena, after a match between Serbian Novak Djokovic and Russian Andrey Rublev, in which he was It is possible to see a spectator wearing a T-shirt with the letter Z printed on it, one of the symbols of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Four people leaving the stadium displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened safety”a spokesman for the Australian Tennis Federation told local newspaper The Age.
“Victoria State Police have intervened and are continuing to question,” the statement from Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper said.
The AFP has contacted the Federation, but has not yet received a response.
After Russian tennis players were refused participation in the Wimbledon tournament last year, they were allowed to participate in the Australian Open this time provided they are represented by a neutral flag.
Following a complaint from the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, the tournament announced the next day that the flags of Russia and Moscow’s ally Belarus were “banned from the Australian Open”.
At the Grand Slam, three players of these nationalities are in the individual semifinals: Belarusians Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka and Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
Source: DN
