“Novak Djokovic is celebrated in Serbia as a national hero, and then an expression of support for student protests caused him to come under fire from pro-regime media and authorities, even though President Aleksandar Vucic is restrained because he is aware of his popularity.”
This is what the Swiss daily “Tagesanzeiger” writes in a text about the best tennis player in history and current events in Serbia.
“Pro-regime media in Serbia claim that President Aleksandar Vucic is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the last of these enemies is Novak Djokovic. For several weeks now, Djokovic, a tennis star, has become the target of a smear campaign for these media.
For years he was celebrated as a national hero, awarded numerous national decorations and celebrated as Serbia’s greatest ambassador and patriot since the battle against the Turks in Kosovo in 1389. But now the national icon is presented in the Serbian media as a national traitor,” the daily writes.
Although Djokovic did not directly criticize President Aleksandar Vucic, his support for student protests was a sufficient reason for the media in Serbia to no longer report on his successes and to “simply ignore him,” writes “Tagesanzeiger.”
The daily states that Djokovic showed solidarity with a girl who was hit by a car on the sidewalk by pro-regime hooligans and ended up in the hospital.
“Violence against students is a great defeat for Serbian society,” Djokovic said at the time in Australia.
The press and some politicians in Serbia, according to the Swiss daily, reacted immediately, stating that his behavior was “a disgrace.” And so the former patriot was branded as an enemy of the state.
On social networks, the newspaper writes, he is also accused of being a “servant of dark, anti-Serbian forces” and a “mercenary of the USA, Great Britain and other eternal enemies.”
While the media are conducting a smear campaign against Djokovic, President Vucic is restrained – he knows very well how popular Djokovic is among the people, which is confirmed by all polls.
“To attack him directly would not be politically profitable. Among the students there are demands that the most successful athlete in the history of Serbia be the opposition’s candidate in the parliamentary elections, that is, against Vucic. But for the unpopular head of state, new elections are out of the question at the moment,” writes “Tagescajtung.”
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Source: N1 Photo: Youtube, Independent