Kosovo Olympic Committee Wants IOC Disciplinary Action Against Djokovic
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 “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” at the French Open.
Djokovic 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’s father grew up.
Serbian authorities said 52 protesters were wounded in the clashes. The violence erupted after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb-majority area following elections that were boycotted by the Serbs. World number three Djokovic later said he was against any kind of conflict but defended his statement.
“Novak Djokovic has yet again promoted the Serbian nationalists’ propaganda and used the sport platform to do so,” president of Kosovo’s Olympic Committee (KOK), Ismet Krasniqi, said in a statement.
“The 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.”
The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call by the KOK, which came a day after Kosovo’s tennis federation accused Djokovic of using his status as a well-known personality to stir tensions.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, whose country will host the summer Olympics in Paris next year, said Djokovic’s message was “not appropriate, clearly”.
“There 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,” Minister Oudea-Casterahe said in an interview.
“But in this case, it was a message that is very activist, that is very political. You shouldn’t get involved, especially in the current circumstances, and it shouldn’t happen again.”
