Novak Djokovic's father has been filmed posing with fans brandishing banned Russian flags at the Australian Open, including one featuring Vladimir Putin, in scenes Ukraine's ambassador Thursday slammed as "a disgrace". After the match a group of fans unfurled Russian flags -- which are banned at Melbourne Park -- near the stadium and chanted pro-Russian and pro-Putin slogans. A video later posted to a pro-Russian Australian YouTube account showed Djokovic's father Srdjan posing with a man holding a Russian flag bearing President Putin's image. Serbian tennis reporters confirmed it was Djokovic's father and the Melbourne Age newspaper reported he said in Serbian: "Long live Russia." Among the Serbian flags, there is: a Russian flag, Putin, Z-symbol, so-called Donetsk People's Republic flag," he tweeted with a link to the video.

Source: The Express Tribune January 26, 2023 20:36 UTC