Restrictions that resulted in the removal of a spectator for wearing a T-shirt supporting Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai at the Australian Open have been overhauled after international backlash.
With reports of activists planning to distribute hundreds of shirts branded with the question “Where is Peng Shuai?” in time for the women’s final on Saturday, the message shouldn’t be hard to find.
“We can’t sell tickets in advance and have people come in and feel unsafe because there’s a large group of people that are using as a platform to espouse their views on whatever topic it is.”Footage screened last weekend of security and police officers asking a fan to remove a shirt that featured an image of Peng on the front and “Where is Peng Shuai?” on the back brought widespread condemnation, with some critics describing it as cowardly.
“To ensure that the Australian Open remains a welcoming, safe and inclusive event for everyone, we have a longstanding policy of not allowing banners, signs or clothing that are commercial or political,” organizers said in a statement. Tiley said the security staffer was following the tournament’s protocols on the weekend but, after a review, the woman involved in the incident would be invited back to the tournament because she wasn’t deemed to be trying to cause a disruption.of Peng. She wrote in a social media post in November that she had been sexually assaulted by a former senior member of the ruling Communist Party.