âSomeone spat gum at meâ â Goffin criticises Paris crowd
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Belgiumâs David Goffin has criticised the âtotal disrespectâ from fans after he claimed someone spat chewing gum at him during his first-round win at the French Open.
Goffin defeated Franceâs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old cupped his ear after he was booed by the partisan French crowd following his win on court 14.
âWhen you are insulted for three and a half hours, you have to annoy the public a little,â Goffin told Belgian media., external
âClearly, it goes too far, itâs total disrespect. Itâs becoming like football. Soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans and there will be fights in the stands.
âItâs starting to become ridiculous. Some people are there more to cause trouble than to create an atmosphere.â
The French Tennis Federation called on fans to show âfull respect to all playersâ.
âThe public are incredibly enthusiastic, particularly on the outside courts,â a statement sent to BBC Sport read.
âAlthough it is only natural that fans share their excitement and cheer on their favourites, this may not in any case go against the values of tennis or consideration for the players.
âOversight bodies are in place to make sure rules are followed.â
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Published18 hours ago
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Published16 hours ago
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Goffin said âa lot of peopleâ were complaining in the locker room about the crowds.
The world number 115 added: âToday, someone spat out their chewing gum at me.
âThatâs why I wanted to stay calm. If I started to get angry about it, it could have destabilised me.â
French womenâs number one Caroline Garcia said she felt sorry for Goffin.
âThank God I never experience it and I hope it will never happen again,â she said.
âIn every sport sometimes there are fans who go too far. We are all here to play tennis and we are all here to watch and enjoy tennis.
âEven if we have our favourite players, we want to cheer with respect.â
Last year, Ukraineâs Marta Kostyuk said French Open spectators âshould be embarrassedâ after she was booed off court when she did not shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
World number one Novak Djokovic also criticised the crowd last year, saying he found it âdisrespectfulâ when he was booed for taking a medical time-out during his victory against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
âI think the majority of the people come to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player. But there are people who love to boo every single thing you do,â said Djokovic.