Constanta: Ilie Nastase has been handed a three-year ban from the Fed Cup over his behaviour during the match against Great Britain in Constanta in April.
Romania’s Fed Cup captain will be barred from acting in an official capacity at any International Tennis Federation event until December 2020 after a series of misdemeanours, including making threatening comments to a Press Association journalist. Nastase has been fined $10,000 and will be denied accreditation to all ITF events until 2018, although the sanction does not include grand slam tournaments nor the respective ATP or WTA Tours, over which the ITF does not have direct jurisdiction. The 71-year-old was provisionally suspended by the ITF. The former French and US Open champion was accused of racist abuse by Serena Williams when he said about her unborn baby: “Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?” He also repeatedly asked the GB captain, Anne Keothavong, for her room number during press conferences before the Fed Cup tie.
He then launched foul-mouth abuse at Keothavong, the British No1 Johanna Konta and the referee Andreas Egli, causing Konta’s match to be briefly suspended as she left the court in tears. Nastase also confronted the Press Association Sport tennis correspondent, Eleanor Crooks, on two occasions. Agencies
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