Wimbledon final umpire was sacked after calling for three rule changes in the sport
Damian Steiner, who umpired the 2019 Wimbledon final, was sacked just weeks after by the ATP for controversial interviews in his home country of Argentina.
Steiner umpired the longest final in Wimbledon history, which saw Novak Djokovic emerge victorious in a five-set victory against Roger Federer.
Due to the historic nature of the final, as well as Steiner making history as the first Argentine to serve as a chair umpire in a Grand Slam singles final, he was bombarded with press in the weeks following.
Steiner proceeded to give multiple interviews on his involvement in the final, which proved to have dire consequences for his future at the ATP.
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According to the ATP, Steiner not only failed to seek permission from tour supervisors before he gave the interviews, but he also spoke on topics that would have been off-limits even if the ATP had granted permission.
"Steiner was found to have conducted multiple media interviews without seeking the required authorisation from an ATP Supervisor," the statement began.
“Much of the content of Steiner’s media interviews were a direct violation of the standard protocol in place whereby officials must refrain from discussing specific incidents or matches, individual players, other officials, or rules, in the interest of maintaining impartiality at all times," it concluded.
In the interviews, Steiner had made multiple rule change suggestions which included abolishing the service let, restricting the use of towels throughout play, and allowing coaching during the match.
The then 44-year-old was provisionally suspended in August of 2019 with confirmation of his sacking coming soon after.
Following an internal investigation the ATP came to the decision that the sheer amount of interviews and the press they had received were enough to sack Steiner rather than suspend or discipline him.
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Topics: Wimbledon, Tennis, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer
Tom Jenkins