KOK president asks IOC to open disciplinary proceedings against Serbian tennis legend
\nLONDON
\nKosovo Olympic authorities have asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Novak Djokovic, accusing the Serbian of stirring up political tension by saying \u201cKosovo is the heart of Serbia\u201d at the French Open.
\nDjokovic wrote the message on a camera lens following his first-round win on Monday, the same day that 30 NATO peacekeeping troops were hurt in clashes with Serb protesters in the Kosovo town of Zvecan – where Djokovic\u2019s father grew up.
\nSerbian authorities said 52 protesters were wounded in the clashes. The violence erupted after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo\u2019s Serb-majority area following elections that were boycotted by the Serbs.
\nThe world number three later said he was against any kind of conflict but defended his statement and described Kosovo\u2019s situation as a \u201cprecedent\u201d.
\n\u201cNovak Djokovic has yet again promoted the Serbian nationalists\u2019 propaganda and used the sport platform to do so,\u201d Ismet Krasniqi, president of Kosovo\u2019s Olympic Committee (KOK), said in a statement.
\n\u201cThe further post-match statements made by such a public figure without any feeling of remorse, directly result in raising the level of tension and violence between the two countries,\u201d he added, urging the IOC to investigate \u201cby opening disciplinary proceedings against the athlete.\u201d
\nFrance\u2019s Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, whose country will host the summer Olympics in Paris next year, said Djokovic\u2019s message was \u201cnot appropriate, clearly\u201d.
\n\u201cThere is a principle of neutrality for the field of play. When you carry messages about defending human rights, messages that bring people together around universal values, a sports person is free to express them,\u201d she told French television.
\n\u201cBut in this case, it was a message that is very activist, that is very political. You shouldn\u2019t get involved, especially in the current circumstances, and it shouldn\u2019t happen again.\u201d
\nDjokovic, chasing a record 23rd Grand Slam title, has said he was not holding back and would do it again. He is set to play his second-round match later on Wednesday against Hungary\u2019s Marton Fucsovics.
\nThe IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
\nOn Tuesday, Kosovo\u2019s tennis federation said Djokovic\u2019s comments were \u201cregrettable\u201d, accusing him of using his status as a well-known personality to stir tensions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KOK president asks IOC to open disciplinary proceedings against Serbian tennis legend LONDON Kosovo Olympic authorities have asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Novak Djokovic, accusing the Serbian of stirring up political tension by saying \u201cKosovo is the heart of Serbia\u201d at the French Open. Djokovic wrote the message on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-334712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n