Roland Garros confirmed a strong financial sanction against the Paraguayan tennis player Daniel Vallejo following statements made after his defeat against the Frenchman Moïse Kouame. The tournament organization considered his comments regarding the refereeing of the match unacceptable and decided to fine him $65,000.

The measure was announced by tournament director Amélie Mauresmo during a press conference. The former world number one described the player's words as inappropriate and explained that the organization decided to act forcefully in the face of the situation.

At first, Mauresmo indicated that the penalty amounted to 65,000 euros. However, the French Tennis Federation later clarified that this was an error and specified that the correct amount was $65,000 dollars, equivalent to approximately 55,000 euros.

The figure represents about half of the money that Vallejo obtained for reaching the second round of the Paris tournament, as explained by the director of Roland Garros.

The statements that caused the sanction

The controversy arose after an interview given by the Paraguayan tennis player to the digital media Clay. After his elimination against Kouame, Vallejo questioned whether the match had been directed by a judge.

“It is difficult for a referee to be able to handle this situation (…) These types of matches have to be refereed by a man, it is difficult for a woman to be able to do it, it is a very heavy crowd, you have to have a lot of strength to go against the crowd,” said the player.

The statements generated a quick reaction from the French Grand Slam organization. Roland Garros had already announced that it would apply a “significant” sanction and later made the financial punishment official.

As indicated, Vallejo initially maintained that his words had been taken out of context. Later, the tennis player apologized for what happened.

In the statement released by the tournament, the organizers rejected the Paraguayan's comments and defended the work of the judges in charge of dispensing justice in the competition.

Roland Garros stated that the statements were “unacceptable” and stressed that “the value of referees is not measured by their gender, but by their professionalism and their ability to direct at a high level.”

The organization also stressed that no sporting result can justify this type of expression.

“The result of a sports match, whether positive or negative, I could never justify or excuse those photos,” added Roland Garros, who “firmly condemned all sexist statements wherever they come from” while expressing his support for the judge and all the tournament referees.”

The sanction closes an episode that generated repercussions during the tournament and that led to one of the most severe fines announced by the organization in this edition of the contest.