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Kosovo Olympic committee calls for disciplinary measures against Serb tennis star Djokovic

The world’s current No. 3 tennis player, Novak Djokovic is a Grand Slam record holder in men’s singles

MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. The president of Kosovo’s Olympic Committee requested on Wednesday that the heads of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) respond to a move by Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who wrote "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" on a television camera lens earlier this week.

After defeating American Alexander Kovacevic in a first-round match at the French Open on Monday, Djokovic scrawled "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence" in Serbian on a camera lens, Kosovo’s Olympic Committee reported on Wednesday.

"As president of the organization, I feel obligated to voice my concern as I ask you to react to Djokovic’s action on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, since such messages and actions represent a danger to the future of sports if they are left unpunished," Ismet Krasniqi said in separate letters to the heads of the IOC and the ITF. He slammed Djokovic’s behavior as being in violation of athletic principles and the Olympic spirit, as well as the Olympic Charter.

"Despite Novak Djokovic being one of the best tennis players, such behavior is inadmissible as it creates a dangerous precedent where sports may be used as a platform for political messages, programs and propaganda," Krasniqi maintained.

Serbian daily newspaper Blic reported on Tuesday that the Kosovo Tennis Federation would lodge an official complaint over Djokovic’s message, seeking disciplinary measures against the world’s former No. 1 tennis player.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT), which organizes the event, refused to reprimand Djokovic, however, saying that there were no official Grand Slam rules on what players can or cannot say.

Meanwhile, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera condemned Djokovic’s message as "inappropriate and very political."

The world’s current No. 3 tennis player, Djokovic is a Grand Slam record holder in men’s singles. The Serbian tennis star and Spain’s Rafael Nadal hold 22 titles each.

Situation in Kosovo

On Monday, officers of KFOR, the NATO-led international security force in Kosovo, attacked Serbs who had been protesting in front of the municipal government building in Zvecan in Kosovo and Metohija since early that morning.

On Friday, Serbian President Alexander Vucic urged the North Atlantic Alliance to take immediate measures to stop the violence against Serbs in Kosovo. Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said on Monday that the Serbian army had been put on high alert following the escalation in Kosovo and Metohija and was ready to act on any order that Vucic may give them.

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