Monday, June 29, 2026
ADVT 
International

Sikh Man Kicked Out Of Wimbledon Queue For 'Making People Uncomfortable'

IANS, 13 Jul, 2016 12:45 PM
    A 20-year-old Sikh man was kicked out of an overnight queue to watch the Wimbledon tennis championships as he apparently made other people around him "uncomfortable".
     
    Govindpal Kooner took to Facebook last week to voice his anger at being thrown out and claimed it was an act of racism, cases of which have reported a rise in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU).
     
    He wrote on Friday: "Kicked out of the overnight camping line for centre court Wimbledon line 'because you make some people around you uncomfortable, so we're gonna have to report you and ask you to leave immediately, sir'".
     

    "Post-Brexit racism and the overt rise of neo-facism. Please advise how best to report this," he said.
     
    The sportsman who himself dreams of playing professional tennis was eventually allowed to enter the ground after re-queuing in the line a few hours later and made an official complaint about his treatment.
     
    "I felt awful. I felt like I should've fought and negotiated but I backed down and silently left. I don't feel like I'm ever going back now. It's still one of my favourite tournaments but can no longer definitively say it's a lifelong dream to play on centre court," he was quoted as saying by Metro.
     
    Dozens of people responded to his post saying he should report the "discrimination" to police.
     
    A Wimbledon spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a gentleman was asked to leave the queue at 4.42 am this morning (Friday) after a number of complaints from his fellow queuers about his behaviour."
     
    He has previously been warned about his conduct in The Queue on up to six separate occasions during this year's Championships.
     
    "We do acknowledge, however, that in this instance the event safety staff could have provided a better explanation to him. Happily, the same person has been in the Grounds today (Friday) watching the tennis," he said.
     
    But the man insists he did nothing that would warrant being escorted off the grounds, was not intoxicated, loud or aggressive and had not been previously warned about his behaviour.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    US fighter jet crashes in Virginia

    US fighter jet crashes in Virginia
    A US F-15C Eagle fighter jet crashed Wednesday morning near Deerfield in Virginia during a routine mission, Pentagon confirmed....

    US fighter jet crashes in Virginia

    Ebola epidemic to get worse: health official

    Ebola epidemic to get worse: health official
    The Ebola outbreak in West Africa will get worse before it gets better, said a top public health official, the BBC reported Thursday....

    Ebola epidemic to get worse: health official

    Uzi Killing In Arizona Displays Tragic Side Of Gun Tourism As It Grows In Popularity

    Uzi Killing In Arizona Displays Tragic Side Of Gun Tourism As It Grows In Popularity
    LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The death of an Arizona firearms instructor by a 9-year-old girl who was firing a fully automatic Uzi displayed a tragic side of what has become a hot industry in the U.S.: gun tourism.

    Uzi Killing In Arizona Displays Tragic Side Of Gun Tourism As It Grows In Popularity

    UK Pakistani Community Says Racism Fears Should Have Never Prevented Reporting On Child Abuse

    UK Pakistani Community Says Racism Fears Should Have Never Prevented Reporting On Child Abuse
    Rotherham is a working-class town that is remarkable in its ordinariness — a collection of charmless discount stores, betting shops and kebab counters, surrounded by sleepy residential streets lined with brick houses that have seen better days.

    UK Pakistani Community Says Racism Fears Should Have Never Prevented Reporting On Child Abuse

    Pooches In A Pot? Pet-Mad Young Koreans Say No To Elders' Taste For Dog, Prefer To Raise Pups

    Pooches In A Pot? Pet-Mad Young Koreans Say No To Elders' Taste For Dog, Prefer To Raise Pups
    SEOUL, South Korea - For more than 30 years, chef and restaurant owner Oh Keum-il built her expertise in cooking one traditional South Korean delicacy: dog meat.

    Pooches In A Pot? Pet-Mad Young Koreans Say No To Elders' Taste For Dog, Prefer To Raise Pups

    US Journalist's Mother Pleads For His Life As Photos Show Killings By Islamic State Gunmen

    US Journalist's Mother Pleads For His Life As Photos Show Killings By Islamic State Gunmen
    BEIRUT - The mother of a hostage American journalist pleaded for his release Wednesday in a video directed at the Islamic State group, while new images emerged of mass killings, including masked militants shooting kneeling men after the capture of a strategic air base in Syria.

    US Journalist's Mother Pleads For His Life As Photos Show Killings By Islamic State Gunmen