2023-09-30 12:59:24
Nach Banjska-Attacke
“Glorifies terrorists” – criticism for Djokovic following Kosovo post
On Instagram, Novak Djokovic remembers three Serbian men who heavily armed attacked a monastery in Kosovo. The tennis superstar is harshly criticized for this in Kosovo.
Published 30. September 2023, 2:59 p.m
Djokovic was so emotional following winning the US Open in Belgrade.
PTC
An armed clash broke out in northern Kosovo last Sunday.
Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic mourns the death of three compatriots.
He is getting a lot of criticism from Kosovo for this.
Once once more, a political statement is causing concern out Novak Djokovic for a big fuss. The Serbian tennis superstar shared a picture on his Instagram story a few days ago to express his condolences for the three fallen Serbian gunmen who were shot dead by Kosovo police on September 24th.
A squad allegedly supported by the Serbian government attacked local police officers in northern Kosovo. To do this, the attackers broke into a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the village of Bansjka and exchanged fire with the Kosovar police officers, in which one police officer and the three attackers were killed.
“Heinous terrorist attack”
The armed clash is considered the most serious incident between Serbia and Kosovo in many years and further inflamed the already tense political situation. The picture shared by Djokovic shows how the killed attackers were remembered with candles in a Belgrade church. The 36-year-old didn’t write anything regarding it, but indicated with three praying emojis that he was mourning his three deceased compatriots.
In Kosovo, the Banjska incident is described as terrorism and accordingly Djokovic’s homage to the killed Serbian attackers is strongly condemned. The Kosovo Football Association writes on The Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs also describes the incident on
Djokovic sponsor Lacoste under pressure
“The Djokovic you sponsored just glorified terrorists in front of his 13.9 million followers,” the ministry wrote to Djokovic’s clothing supplier Lacoste and continued: “You certainly don’t want your billion-dollar brand to be associated with the glorification of terrorism becomes?”.
Djokovic is far from the only one in Serbia to show solidarity with the attackers who died in Banjska. Football champions Red Star Belgrade are also mourning and even donating money to the families of the Serbs who were killed. YB’s upcoming opponent in the Champions League describes the whole thing as a “tragedy that happened to honorable and honest families in the southern Serbian province.” Each family should receive the equivalent of around 9,700 francs.
The Kosovo Football Association is adding the hashtag #LacosteStopSponsoringDjokovic underneath to encourage the clothing brand to stop supporting the tennis superstar. Numerous other users are also contacting Lacoste on social media and announcing that they want to boycott the brand in the future.
Serbs defend Djokovic
In his home country, however, Djokovic is praised for his Instagram story. The tabloid “Blic” writes: “Djokovic shared a photo that unites Serbia and the fans with a special message.” The TV channel Arena Sport praises the tennis superstar for honoring the “martyr Serbs”.
There are also words of support for “Djoker” from his fans on social media. A user on X writes that Djokovic is just expressing his condolences for his deceased compatriots. This comes following the Serbian government announced three days of national mourning. Other users also emphasize that he only cares regarding the well-being of the Serbs in Kosovo.
Not Djokovic’s first Kosovo statement
Lacoste has not yet commented on the matter. There has also been no statement from Djokovic himself since the aforementioned Instagram story. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion had already caused disagreements in the Kosovo conflict with controversial actions in the past.
At the last French Open, he wrote “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia, stop the violence” in Serbian on a TV camera lens, which caused red heads in the Kosovo camp. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. In Serbia, however, this independence is still not recognized today.
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