Nastase faces lifetime ban

Wednesday 26th April 2017 07:19 EDT
 
 

Romanian Fed Cup captain Ilie Nastase faces a possible lifetime ban from tennis after he was ejected from the Constanta’s Tennis Club IDU for unsportsmanlike conduct. Nastase lost his temper with umpire Jaume Campistol after he had warned the Romanian crowd that they might be docked points if they continued to call “out” during rallies. But as the argument escalated, he twice shouted at the British captain Anne Keothavong and her No 1 player, Johanna Konta.

Nastase’s fury was soon being reflected by further foul-mouthed heckling from the Romanian fans, some of whom may have been especially ill-disposed towards Konta because of her Hungarian background. One game after Nastase’s ejection, play had to be suspended for 20 minutes because Konta was in tears.

At that point, the International Tennis Federation would have been within their rights to hand Konta victory by default. Fortunately, she was able to regroup, and came back out to conclude a 6-2, 6-3 victory over her opponent, Sorana Cirstea. But that only provoked an outcry from the Romanian team, as Cirstea suggested that Konta had been exaggerating her distress in order to halt play when she was behind.

In the short term, Nastase has had his accreditation for the tie revoked and faces further sanctions that are sure to include a lengthy ban for the 70-year-old. “This is unacceptable behaviour by a Fed Cup captain,” said the ITF president David Haggerty. “No player, official, member of the media or fan should have to endure any kind of abuse, and Nastase will rightly play no further part in this tie. A formal investigation is already underway and any decision or sanction will be made by the ITF’s Adjudication Panel. We are unable to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”


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