Referee Sören Friemel - "Diffuse allegations - my reputation is damaged"
Sören Friemel, the senior tennis referee, has been handed a one-year ban by the ITF. Friemel speaks of "dubious allegations" that have severely damaged his reputation.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 04, 2022, 08:07 pm
Sören Friemel is an authority in international tennis. Since 2014, the man from Münster, who now lives in London, has been in charge of refereeing in the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the world association. Friemel suspended himself on June 19, 2021. After his appeal was rejected, he will not take any further legal action against the ban, which runs until June 18, 2022. as Friemel confirmed again to tennisnet.com. "That doesn't change anything anymore. My reputation, my reputation is badly damaged," said Friemel in the Westfälische Nachrichten.
As the newspaper from Friemel's homeland reports, the referee is said to have been burdened by a younger colleague after the French Open last year. Friemel is said to have issued an inappropriate invitation - which the experienced referee also confirms. However: "Drinking a nightcap together during the tournaments was and is actually quite normal," Friemel is quoted as saying in the WN report. "And that meeting never even happened.
Friemel disqualifies Djokovic
Other allegations dating from 2010 to 2014 suggest that Friemel violated the Code of Conduct for Officials. However, Sören Friemel is not aware of any concrete allegations. Rather, he sees himself "suddenly burdened with vague allegations" that are "seven to ten years old."
The English Telegraph was the first medium to become aware of the cause. "The complaint was that Soren made inappropriate comments and invitations to an individual," an ITF spokesman told the Telegraph. "It was about the situation and the imbalance of power that the investigators and panel found a breach of our code."
Friemel came into the public eye in 2020 when, as head referee, he had to disqualify world number one Novak Djokovic at the US Open after the Serb accidentally hit a line judge on the neck with a ball that had been thrown away.