French Open: Paraguayan player fined for sexist comments about umpire
What's the story
Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has been fined €65,000, nearly half of his tournament earnings, for making sexist comments about a female umpire. The incident occurred after Vallejo's second-round defeat to French teenager Moise Kouame at the ongoing Roland Garros. After losing the five-setter that lasted nearly five hours, Vallejo criticized Brazilian umpire Ana Carvalho. Here are further details.
Controversial remarks
Remarks were 'clearly unacceptable': Mauresmo
Vallejo lost the men's singles clash 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(8). After the match, he said, "This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man," and added, "It's very difficult for a woman to do it." The comments were met with condemnation from French Open director Amelie Mauresmo. She called the remarks "clearly unacceptable" and reiterated that such statements have no place in the sport.
Defense strategy
Vallejo defends his comments
Vallejo defended his remarks by saying they were about crowd control, not the umpire's ability. He claimed that the spectators were heavily rooting for Kouame and that Carvalho had difficulty controlling them. "It has to be refereed by a man, because it's a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd," he said.
Match accusations
Vallejo accuses Kouame of slowing down the match
Along with his comments about Carvalho, Vallejo also accused Kouame of deliberately slowing down the match. He said the French player "took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling." "And it's not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play," added Vallejo.