Ilie Nastase not welcome at Wimbledon this year, say organisers
ByReuters
Updated 03/05/2017 at 18:03 GMT
Former Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase will not be welcome at this year's Wimbledon championships and could be stopped at the gate if he tries to attend, organisers said on Wednesday.
Former tennis player Ilie Nastase in the royal box on Centre Court at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, July 6, 2015
Image credit: Reuters
The 70-year-old former French and U.S. Open champion is provisionally banned from all International Tennis Federation (ITF) events after hurling allegedly racist and sexist comments during Romania's Fed Cup tie with Britain last month.
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Romania's head coach Ilie Nastase reacts while watching the FedCup Group II play-off match between Romania and Great Britain, in Constanta county, Romania, April 22, 2017.
Image credit: Reuters
All England Club chairman Philip Brook said he "condemned" the behaviour of two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nastase.
"In terms of an invitation to the Royal Box, he won't receive one this year," Brook said at the club's spring news conference.
Club chief executive Richard Lewis went further, saying Nastase "could be stopped at the gate" if he tried to enter the grounds with a ticket.
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Wimbledon bans Nastase from Royal Box
Romanian Fed Cup captain Nastase, who courted controversy throughout his career, was booted out of his country's tie with Britain for "unsportsmanlike" behaviour.
The singles rubber between Britain's Johanna Konta and Sorana Cirstea was briefly suspended after remarks made by Nastase to Konta and Britain's captain Anne Keothavong.
Nastase had already run into trouble during the World Group II playoff tie in Constanta, after allegedly making a derogatory comment about American great Serena Williams's unborn child.
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