Greek tennis fans who came to support player Maria Sakkari at the Australian Open and were kicked out the stadium for disruptive behavior have accused the Australian police of racism, media reported on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) Greek tennis fans who came to support player Maria Sakkari at the Australian Open and were kicked out the stadium for disruptive behavior have accused the Australian police of racism, media reported on Wednesday.
According to Herald Sun sports, a group of 15-20 male fans were given multiple warnings by the umpire and security staff before being ushered out of the stadium for apparently yelling nationalistic chants and holding flags targeting North Macedonia, a country with which Greece used to have a diplomatic row.
Sakkari ended up beating Japan's Nao Hibino, after which the 24-year-old tennis player reportedly seemed to side with the fans by saying she enjoyed their support.
Evicted fans told the newspaper that they felt the law enforcement's approach was racist and insisted they had done nothing wrong. They also pledged to come back on Friday to root for another Greek tennis star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, as could be heard on video footage taken from the scene.
It was Tsitsipas who several days ago asked fans to temper down their behavior and respect players from other countries after his opening-round win.
