A Romanian tennis legend has been suspended over alleged racist and nasty comment made regarding tennis star, Serena Williams and her unborn baby.
The Romanian tennis legend and Fed Cup captain, Ilie “Nasty” Nastase was after the racist comment thrown out from a Fed Cup match against Great Britain for yelling nasty words from his court side seat.
The International Tennis Federation, ITF, has since launched investigation into the alleged utterance.
According to report, 70-year-old Nastase at the Federation Cup draw in Constanta on Friday allegedly said of the tennis star’s unborn baby: “Let’s see what color it has. Chocolate with milk?”
This comes after the tennis great confirmed she was 20 weeks pregnant after her engagement to Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian.
Speaking on the alleged racist comment the ITF in a statement said “The ITF does not tolerate discriminatory and offensive language and behavior of any kind.
“We are aware of alleged comments made by Romanian Captain Ilie Nastase and have begun an immediate investigation so that we have the full facts of the situation before taking further and appropriate action.”
The ITF in furtherance to its stand suspended Nastase in a statement released which reads: “The ITF’s Internal Adjudication Panel has issued Ilie Nastase with a provisional suspension under the Fed Cup regulations for a breach of the Fed Cup welfare policy at the tie in Constanta.
“Under the terms of the provisional suspension, Nastase may not participate in the Fed Cup in any capacity with immediate effect and shall be denied access to, and accreditation for, any ITF event including Fed Cup.
“The investigation by the Internal Adjudication Panel is ongoing. No further comment will be made during the investigation.”