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Watch: Umpire confronts fan with Ukraine flag during all-Russian Cincinnati Masters qualifying round match

Kalinskaya and Potapova took on each other in the Cincinnati Masters and a fan with the Ukraine flag was kicked out during the match.

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Umpire confronts fan with Ukraine Flag

Umpire confronts fan with Ukraine Flag (Image Source: Twitter)

Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova faced off each other in the Cincinnati Masters qualifying round on Sunday. Kalinskaya registered a 7-5, 6-1 win over Potapova in the match. During the game, an interesting event unfolded that baffled the spectators in the arena.

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A fan with the Ukraine flag was kicked-off by the umpire midway during the game after one of the players' requests. As per reporter Ben Rothenberg, the woman was a local resident named Lola. The umpire Morgane Lara had to intervene and remove her from the crowds. Spectators who sat next to Lola, have reportedly came to her defense stating that the woman did not offend anyone.

Lara said to Lola that it was 'not nice' to sit with the flag. Lola had reportedly replied that it was not nice to invade a country. Rothenberg took to Twitter to share the news. He said that the Marshal became aggressive with the fan and forced her to leave. The Tennis journalist further added that the Marshal blackmailed to call the cops if she denied leaving.

"Other spectators nearby at Court 8 quickly came to Lola’s defence, saying she wasn’t doing anything wrong or saying anything disruptive. She was just sitting there with her flag. They mentioned free speech, ‘land of the free’, etc, but the marshal was unmoved," he tweeted further. Lola then voluntarily moved out and the match resumed.

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The head of security, later, clarified that she was removed because her flag was too big. A spokesperson of the tournament reportedly clarified the incident later.

"Per the Western & Southern Open’s bag policy, as stated on the tournament’s website, flags or banners larger than 18 x 18 are prohibited," the spokesperson said. He added that the person was allowed to remain after removing the flag.

"Therefore, the patron was asked to remove the flag from the grounds and after doing so was allowed to remain at the tournament. Any inquiries about the chair umpire should be directed to the WTA Tour," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.