By DPA
Melbourne : Beleaguered Australian Open officials and Melbourne police went into damage control mode Wednesday, defending the gassing of a crowd of rowdy, chanting spectators during an evening match.
Morning radio chat shows featured conversations with some parents who said they were among 30 people in the stands affected by pepper spray, applied liberally by police trying to break up a group of noisy Greek fans during a match at the showcase Margaret Court arena.
Reports said that among victims were a grandfather and his four-year-old grandson and a 13-year-old youth, injured by fumes from the spray as police charged a small group of Greeks during a match won by Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez over Greek qualifier Kostantinos Economidis.
Six or more spectators were treated by ambulance workers for effects of the spray, which police official John Cooke said was used “when officers feel they are in danger”.
According to radio reports, around seven officers faced off against 10 unarmed spectators in the ugly incident, which has brought quick condemnation from tough-talking Tennis Australia officials.
At least three of the alleged troublemakers could face charges, Cooke said, adding that five people in total were ejected from the park and banned from re-entering for 24 hours.
“Our members have acted with restraint and professionally in a very difficult situation,” said the police official. “They have our full support and have managed to diffuse a hostile situation without any injuries.”
Witnesses on talk radio said that the offending Greeks were relatively tame, their worst insult being to call Gonzalez a “fag”.
The incident – all but unheard-of in tennis – was the second in as many years at Melbourne Park, the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments ever affected by crowd violence and serious police intervention.
In an opening-day riot in 2007 between Serbian and Croatian supporters, about 150 brawlers were evicted from the grounds. The surprised Gonzalez said he felt nothing had gotten out of hand in a loud match played in good fun.
“They said a few things, but it’s part of the crowd. It was really fun for them,” he said. “There were a lot of Chileans and a lot of Greeks. For me, it’s fun to play like that. It’s like a Davis Cup match. I think the people enjoy it.”