The French Tennis Federation (FFT) and Roland Garros will impose a financial penalty on tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for his sexist comments against the referee of the match he played on Thursday against the Frenchman Moise Kouamé, which was decided in favor of the latter by 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, and 7-6(8). The Paraguayan player, ranked 71st in the world, stated in an interview granted to Clay that the match should have been refereed by a man, instead of the Brazilian referee Ana Carvalho.
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Specifically, the tennis player said: “This type of match has to be refereed by a man, it is very difficult for a woman to do it.” “It has to be refereed by a man, because the crowd is very heavy and you have to have a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”
After the publication of the statements, Vallejo posted on his social media: “Taken out of context. I never spoke about women in general, I spoke about the referee [referee] specifically, who did not manage the crowd at any time during the match. That said, I also did not say that I lost because of her. I congratulated the opponent and it is normal for the crowd to cheer for the local player.”
In response to this message, Clay published the full audio of the meeting with the tennis player.
In response to these comments, the organization of the French Grand Slam issued a statement on Friday afternoon stating that they “have taken note” and consider them “unacceptable.” It continues: “The competence of a referee is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and their ability to referee at the highest level. The result of a sports competition, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse this type of comment.”
The FFT and the tournament “strongly condemn any sexist comment, regardless of who makes it, and offer their support to the referee of the match and, in general, to all referees of the tournament.”
