CNN — The Kosovan Olympic Committee (KOC) has called for the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Tennis
Federation (ITF) to take disciplinary action against Serbian tennis
player Novak Djokovic.
On Monday, Djokovic left a political message on a TV camera lens at the
French Open in response to violent clashes in Kosovo, writing: “Kosovo
is the [heart symbol] of Serbia. Stop the violence” in Serbian.
In a letter written by KOC President Ismet Krasniqi and addressed to the
IOC, the KOC said Djokovic’s message “breached the fundamental principle
of the IOC charter on the point of political neutrality and involved yet
another political statement in sport.”
“Especially as a son of a man born in Kosovo, I feel the need to give my
support to our people and to the entirety of Serbia. I don’t know, and I
think many others don’t know, what the future brings for Kosovo and for
Serbian people, but it’s necessary to show support and demonstrate unity
in these kinds of situations.”
Djokovic’s reference to the “entirety of Serbia” reflects the policy of
the Serbian government, which still considers Kosovo to be an integral
part of its territory and has not recognized the country’s independence.
Tensions have been rising in the past week in Kosovo, which declared
independence from Serbia in 2008. There were clashes with protestors on
Monday after ethnically Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo,
a majority Kosovo Serb area, following April elections that Kosovo Serbs
had boycotted.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/31/tennis/kosovan-olympic-committee-novak-djokovic-french-open-spt-intl/index.html
There's handcuffs somewhere with Djok's name on them. "Detain him!"
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"And off they went, from here to there,
The bear, the bear, and the maiden fair"
-- Traditional