French Open: After Corona exclusion - Damir Dzumhur threatens to take legal action
Damir Dzumhur will apparently sue the organizers of the French Open. After a positive corona test by his trainer Petar Popovic, the Bosnian is not allowed to participate in the Grand Slam tournament in Paris - even though Popovic tested negative a day later.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 22, 2020, 07:49 pm
The French Open in Paris is currently under a bad star: The Corona cases in France are increasing continuously, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year was not spared by COVID-19. Six players from the qualification tested positive before the tournament started - one of them, Damir Dzumhur, now wants to take legal action against the organizer.
The 28-year-old had confirmed his tournament on Instagram on Sunday: "Unfortunately, my trainer Petar Popovic tested positive this morning. That's why I was taken out of the tournament and have no chance to participate. He was not given a second test and we are sure it was a false positive because my coach has antibodies. "
"Will fight in court"
As Dzumhur now announced, a second test by his coach was negative. Therefore, the Bosnian will apparently sue the organizers of the French Open: "Petar carried out a test in Serbia today. If it is negative, we will report it," said the world number 114. on Monday, before the second test result became known, to L'Equipe .
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"We got in touch with a lawyer. If I am prevented from fighting on the pitch, I will fight in court. We will file a complaint and see what comes out," Dzumhur said.
Two-class society?
The Bosnian also fears that the players will be treated differently: "On Sunday my coach asked me: Do you really think they would have done the same thing with Rafael Nadal ? That they would have disqualified him if a member of his team had been positive? I don't think so. Would you have given that person a chance to take a second test? I'm pretty sure yes. "
Popovic repeated this allegation in an interview with L'Equipe on Tuesday: "If Rafa were in our situation, he would certainly be given the opportunity to do a second or third test to be sure. We feel small and weak. It is a Scandalous and very frustrating. "
The coach, however, is convinced that the court will rule in his and Dzumhur's favor: "I'm sure we will win. You will have to pay a lot for it. That drives me crazy."
French Open justify proceeding
Doctor Bernard Montalvan, who is responsible for the health protocol at the French Open, sees no mistake in the procedure. "He was tested twice. Even if he was negative the next day, he tested positive," Montalvan told L'Equipe . "We wrote a protocol, the players read it and signed it. If a coach sleeps in the same room as his player, he knows that if the test is positive, the player is a contact person."
Therefore, the organizers only acted according to the rules. In addition, Montalvan fears no legal consequences - precautions were taken against possible legal remedies before the start of the tournament. The final answer in this case is likely to be a long time coming.