(ANSA-AFP) - PARIS, MAY 31 - France's sports minister
condemned Novak Djokovic on Wednesday after he wrote a message
saying Kosovo was at the "heart of Serbia" following his victory
in the opening round of Roland Garros. The Belgrade-born tennis
superstar scrawled "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the
violence" on a camera on Monday in Paris amid clashes between
ethnic Albanians and Serbs in the territory. Kosovo, mostly
populated by Muslim ethnic Albanians, broke away from the
then-Yugoslavia in the late 1990s and declared independence in
2008, in a move that has never been accepted by neighbouring
Christian-majority Serbia or its ally Russia. French Sports
Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told broadcaster France 2 that
Djokovic's message was "not appropriate, clearly". "There's a
principle of neutrality for the field of play. When you carry
messages about defending human rights, messages that bring
peoples together around universal values, a sportsperson is free
to express them. (ANSA-AFP).
© Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved