Wimbledon 2022: British club president defends Russia's Belarus player ban

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The Wimbledon Championshipbegan on Tuesday, and Russian or Belarusian players did not rob the grass court due to Vladimirputin's invasion of Ukraine in February. The

invasion has caused abacklash against Russianand Belarusian athletes throughout the sporting world. The All England Club, which organizes Wimbledon, has decided to ban players from these countries from participating in the third major tennis tournament this season.

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All England Club President Ian Hewitt will be in London on April 26, 2022. Talk to the media. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

All England Club President Ian Hewittexplains to ESPNPropaganda for players who don't want Wimbledon as a place He didn't want to "go against the government's leadership" to spread the word.

"One was a route to consider personal declarations from players, and frankly I didn't think it was the right approach for our kind of tournament." Hewitt talked about his options. "We were willing to put the safety of the player at risk. I think the route affected the safety of the player and the safety of the family and did not really leave any other viable option.

”But also, given the profile we have, Wimbledon uses the propaganda machines that the Russian government has adopted in relation to its own people and how they use their position in the world. It was also very important that we shouldn't. Presented, it will not admit that Wimbledon's success or participation in Wimbledon has been so abused.

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All England Club President Ian Hewitt doesn't want Wimbledon to be a place for players to spread propaganda I explained to ESPN. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)

"Therefore, as a result of the combination of reasons, there was no viable alternative to rejecting the entry. I am very regretful of the impact on the individual athletes affected, but I am also very regretful of the impact on so many innocent people caused by the tragic situation in Ukraine. " ..

Hewitt added that he was "disappointed" with ATP and the WTA took ranking points from the tournament.

Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic always condemns the war for the April decision, but says politics and sports should never be confused. rice field.

Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova in the Women's Singles Final At the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquette Club in London on July 10, 2021. (AELTC / Ben Queenborough-Pool / Getty Images)

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"I can't support Wimbledon's decision. I think it's crazy. When politics interferes with sports, the results are bad."

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.