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    Djokovic must abstain from political messages at French Open: Sports minister

    PARIS (AP) – French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said yesterday that Novak Djokovic’s political message about Kosovo was “not appropriate” and warned the former top-ranked Serb player that he should not do it again.

    Speaking on TV station France 2, Oudea-Castera said French Open director Amelie Mauresmo spoke with Djokovic and his entourage to insist on the principle of “neutrality” on the field of play.

    “When it comes to defending human rights and bringing people together around universal values, a sportsperson is free to do so,” she said. But Oudea-Castera added that Djokovic’s message was “militant, very political” and “must not be repeated”.

    Djokovic has drawn criticism from Kosovo’s tennis federation after offering his thoughts on clashes in northern Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and police and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peacekeepers.

    After a first-round victory in Paris on Monday, Djokovic wrote in Serbian on the lens of a courtside TV camera: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence.”

    Kosovo’s tennis federation said on Tuesday that Djokovic’s comments were “deplorable” because he was stoking tension between Serbia and Kosovo.

    Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. PHOTO: AP
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