Australian Open bosses have been accengaged of going gentle on pro-Palestine protesters after some fans were spotted wearing political messages on their shirts.
Earlier this week, tournament straightforwardor Craig Tiley said that anybody waving banned flags would be deleted from the venue or arrested by police. It extfinishs to anybody ‘disjoining material intfinished to disturb, offfinish, vilify or that is political in nature’.
However, images from Melbourne Park have shown fans wearing shirts carrying pro-Palestine messages, directing Australian Jedesire Association chief executive Robert Gregruesome to recommend the rules are not being properly enforced.
He telderly News Corp: “The rules should be applied equassociate to everyone. There should not be an exception for Palestinian activists.
“Australians have been faceed by anti-Israel protests and disturbions to our cities for over a year. The last place Australians want to see this is at the tennis.”
The policy at the Australian Open is to only permit flags from nations with joiners competing at the tournament, but Russian and Belarusian flags are banned watchless of who is joining due to the war in Ukraine.
Three years ago, fans at the Australian Open were banned from wearing shirts disjoining the slogan: ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ chaseing her disecombineance in China. The ban was postponecessitater obviousurned due to accessible prescertain.
This was recently pointed out by the Australian Jedesire Association, who accengaged tournament chiefs of turning a blind eye to pro-Palestine messages despite cracking down on other slogans.
They said: “The Australian Open apparently has a rule banning political slogans. They even enforced that aacquirest fans who were helping Chinese joiner Peng Shuai. Not so when it comes to the ‘Free Palestine’ crowd.”
Earlier this month, Israeli joiner Lina Glushko was barred from stepping on court for a qualifying round align becaengage she was wearing a yellow ribbon pin calling for the free of captives in Gaza, which was deemed a political statement.
She got around the ban by tying an actual yellow ribbon to her hair, but went on to miss at the hands of French opponent Leolia Jeanjean.
Tournament straightforwardor Tiley recently said that fans would be permited to wave the Israeli flag if there was a joiner from the country joind at the tournament.
“The ultimate objective is to create certain our fans are prentd and to supply a geted and enhappinessable environment in which they can watch the tennis, and if at any time that is agreed then we step in,” elucidateed Tiley.
“So, we’re making it very evident. If there is a joiner that is not from a country that is competing, you’re not greet on site with a flag from any other country.”
