{"id":1386,"date":"2023-01-17T06:56:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T07:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marinemalawi.com\/?p=1386"},"modified":"2025-06-20T11:03:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T11:03:03","slug":"major-sports-event-bans-russian-flag-after-ukrainian-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marinemalawi.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/major-sports-event-bans-russian-flag-after-ukrainian-complaints\/","title":{"rendered":"Major sports event bans Russian flag after Ukrainian complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis showpiece the Australian Open has reversed its policy after initially letting fans display the Russian tricolor in the stands<\/strong><\/p>\n

Organizers at the Australian Open have said they will no longer allow fans to display Russian and Belarusian flags at the tournament, following a complaint from the Ukrainian ambassador to the country regarding an \u201cincident\u201d<\/em> on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open,\u201d<\/em> read a statement from Tennis Australia on Tuesday. \u201cOur initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A Russian flag was seen in the stands on the outer courts at Melbourne Park during the first-round match between Ukraine\u2019s Kateryna Baindl and Russia\u2019s Kamilla Rakhimova on Monday. The scene triggered anger from some Ukrainian observers, including women\u2019s player Marta Kostyuk \u2013 who has already stated that she will continue her policy of not shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian players at the tournament. Kostyuk shared an image on Twitter of the Russian tricolor at the match between Baindl and Rakhimova, writing \u201cno words\u2026\u201d<\/em> followed by a series of \u2018exploding head\u2019 emojis.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s ambassador to Australia, Vasily Myroshnychenko, also weighed in, demanding that Tennis Australia enforce a \u201cneutral flag\u201d<\/em> policy as he \u201cstrongly condemned\u201d<\/em> the presence of Russian colors. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n An angry Myroshnychenko shared an image of the Russian flag in the stands at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Twitter <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One Russian fan who was reportedly among the group which displayed the flag, Eugene Routman, told Australian media outlet The Age<\/a>: \u201cWe got a few complaints, but we weren\u2019t heckling, we were just cheering for the Russian player because she only had one supporter, her mom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like we\u2019re waving Nazi flags and ISIS flags. It\u2019s a sovereign country,\u201d<\/em> added Routman, who moved to Australia from Russia with his family at the age of five and was wearing a T-shirt bearing an image of President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian spectators accused Routman and his fellow fans of \u201ctaunting\u201d<\/em> their player and called security staff to the court, where the Russian flag was removed and no further action taken. Ukrainian-Australian spectator Maria Tumarkin claimed the behavior of Routman and his group was \u201cunsafe\u201d<\/em> and \u201cintimidating,\u201d<\/em> especially given the proximity of fans to the court.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Women\u2019s
Australia rejects Ukrainian calls for Russian tennis ban<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Russian and Belarusian players are free to compete at the Australian Open but must do so without any national symbols\u00a0\u2013 in line with the rules set by tennis\u2019 governing bodies the ITF, WTA and ATP following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ahead of the\u00a0tournament in Melbourne\u00a0\u2013 which is one of four Grand Slams on the tennis calendar\u00a0\u2013 Ukrainian ambassador Myroshnychenko had called on the Australian authorities to ban Russian and Belarusian players completely, following in the footsteps of British showpiece Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

Organizers in Australia declined to take that step, instead allowing the likes of Russian top-10 stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev and Belarusian women\u2019s world number five Aryna Sabalenka to compete, albeit under neutral status.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commenting on the flag ban for spectators, Sabalenka said she was under the impression that \u201csport is nothing to do with politics,\u201d<\/em> but that \u201cif everyone feels better this way, then it\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Men\u2019s star Rublev, who is seeded fifth, was in action in his first-round match against Dominic Thiem on Tuesday, with a Russian tricolor reportedly being removed from the stands at the John Cain Arena after the ban was introduced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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