Underfire Umpire, Carlos Ramos, who is in the center of the row involving Serena William’s US Open final match, has finally opened up.
The Umpire docked Williams a game penalty for three code violations and the female legend went on a tirade against him in which she called him a ‘thief’ and a ‘liar’.
There were also accusations of sexism and it was suggested that Ramos would have let a man get away with it if he were in that situation.
Ramos, in an interview with Portuguese publication Tribuna Expresso, with whom he spoke briefly, put out a vague comment as he is bound by contract– as all umpires are, to speak about the match specifically, ‘It’s a delicate situation.’ he said
“But umpiring ‘a la carte’ is something that does not exist. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine”
The Serena Williams scandal is the first the umpire has found himself in, enjoying an erstwhile spotless record and it has been a major worry for other umpires that the President of the US Tennis Association, which runs the US Open, Katrina Adams, was on Serena Williams’ side.
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She also questioned Ramos’ decision and this is a move that has worried other umpires who are now considering unionizing and boycotting Serena Williams’ games.
According to the Daily Mail, an anonymous Umpire claimed that Ramos was ‘thrown to the wolves for simply doing his job and was not willing to be abused for it,’
Several Umpires who spoke to the Times of London claimed that they may begin a boycott soon.
‘There is a lot of unhappiness in the umpiring community because no one is standing up for officials,’ one senior umpire said
‘Umpires keep asking: ‘What if it was me in that chair on Saturday?’ There is a widespread feeling that Carlos was hung out to dry for nearly 48 hours and that no one is standing up for officials,’
This is in relation to both the USTA and WTA taking sides with Serena Williams and that this stance has made umpires skittish that they would not have the backing of organizational bodies when they make difficult or controversial calls.