PARIS (AP) 鈥� Adolfo Daniel Vallejo will receive a significant fine for his 鈥渟exist remarks鈥� at the French Open after he said his second-round match should not have been umpired by a woman.
Vallejo lost to French teenager Moise Kouame on Thursday after a tense five-set battle that lasted nearly five hours on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
鈥淭his sort of match needs to be umpired by a man,鈥� Vallejo told Clay magazine after his 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) loss. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult for a woman to do it.鈥�
His comments were 鈥渦nacceptable,鈥� the French Tennis Federation and Roland Garros organizers said on Friday.
鈥淭he competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,鈥� they added in a statement. 鈥淭he outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks. The tournament organizers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.鈥�
Organizers did not say how much the fine would be, but players reaching the second round at the French Open receive 130,000 euros ($151,000).
Kouame was 5-3 down in the fifth set and 8-7 down in the tiebreaker. The French crowd was boisterous and Vallejo, from Paraguay, said the umpire, Ana Carvalho from Brazil, did not control the spectators.
鈥淚t has to be refereed by a man, because it鈥檚 a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he crowd was very out of line, but I understand they鈥檙e supporting their compatriot. It鈥檚 quite an intense crowd and that鈥檚 why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn鈥檛 harm me, but rather strengthened him.鈥�
Vallejo added that Kouame 鈥渢ook up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling.鈥�
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 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鈥檚 obviously going to take advantage of it. The truth is it鈥檚 also difficult for a referee to manage this situation.鈥�
Roland Garros organizers said they condemn 鈥渁ll sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them鈥� and offered their support to the match umpire 鈥渁nd, more broadly, to all the tournament鈥檚 umpiring officials.鈥�
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AP sports writer Jerome Pugmire contributed.
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