Vallejo fined 65,000 euros for sexist umpire comments

Vallejo fined – Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was fined 65,000 euros at the French Open after saying his match should not have been umpired by a woman, adding that a woman would struggle against a demanding crowd. The tournament director called the remarks “clearly unacceptable” and

PARIS — After a five-set battle that stretched nearly five hours, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s criticism of the officiating followed him onto a different kind of court.

The French Open tournament director announced Monday that Vallejo was fined 65,000 euros, “representing roughly half of his prize money,” after he said his second-round match should not have been umpired by a woman.

Vallejo lost to French teenager Moise Kouame last week in a tense five-set match decided 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8). After the loss, Vallejo told the tennis website Clay that “this sort of match needs to be umpired by a man.” He later added: “It’s very difficult for a woman to do it.”

Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo told reporters at the French Open that the fine—65,000 euros, or about $76,000—was imposed after the comments.

“This is clearly unacceptable,” Mauresmo said. “Once again, such remarks have no place here.”

Players reaching the second round at the French Open receive 130,000 euros, making the penalty equivalent to about half of that sum.

Vallejo, from Paraguay, said the umpire, Ana Carvalho from Brazil, did not control the spectators. In explaining his views, he said, “It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”

He added that while the crowd was “very out of line,” he believed it would not ultimately hurt him. Instead, he said it helped his opponent. “But I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and. to be honest. it didn’t harm me. but rather strengthened him.”.

Vallejo also pointed to delays during the match. saying Kouame “took up a lot of time on many occasions. lying on the floor or stalling.” He criticized the crowd for its volume and timing as well. saying: “And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. In a match where the physical aspect matters so much. if you give a player a lot of time he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.”.

He acknowledged the difficulty of managing the atmosphere, adding: “The truth is it’s also difficult for a referee to manage this situation.”

French Open Roland Garros Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Moise Kouame Amelie Mauresmo Ana Carvalho sexism fine tennis