SYDNEY (VG) Australian police have arrested a number of Russian tennis fans who displayed Russian flags with a picture of President Vladimir Putin.
The Serbian Djokovic crushed the Russian Andrey Rublev with the set numbers 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 and made it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The 35-year-old afterwards ranked the match as his second best ever at the Australian Open.
After the match there were scenes not often associated with the sport of tennis.
The Melbourne police arrested four Russian fans for threatening security. Russian and Belarusian flags are illegal inside the stadium in the prestigious tournament.
It happened after the audience who had such flags at the beginning of the tournament helped to provoke.
On the steps outside the stadium, some Russians nevertheless chose to display a Russian flag with a picture of President Vladimir Putin, the leader who chose to invade neighboring Ukraine on 24 January last year.
– Four people in the audience displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards, says a spokesperson for the organizer Tennis Australia, the Australian Tennis Association, according to the Melbourne newspaper The Age.
– The police in Victoria (the state Melbourne is in, journ.anm) intervened and questioned them. The public’s safety and convenience is our priority and we work closely with the authorities and security officers.
Pictures from inside the stadium also show a spectator with a large Z on his T-shirt, which is a poorly hidden support for the Russian war in Ukraine.
Russian and Belarusian flags were initially legal if people used them without bothering others.
Since the invasion of Ukraine last February, tennis players from Russia and Belarus have participated in tournaments under neutral flags. The same applies in the Australian Open.
