The controversy continues to haunt Novak Djokovic wherever he goes. The Serb, who is spending a few days on vacation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been caught in a photo during his trip through the country with one of the soldiers who participated in the Srebrenica genocide, one of the most dramatic and bloody episodes of the Bosnian War in which more than 8,000 Bosnians perished.
The image in question was taken on the 18th and, in it, Novak Djokovic appears with Milan Jolovic, former commander of the paramilitary unit known as the 'Drina Wolves' (The Wolves of Drina), who participated in the Srebrenica genocide and that, despite this, he has not been convicted of war crimes. Jolovic is also known by the nickname 'Legend', as he was one of the men who saved the life of former Serbian general Ratko Mladic, who was convicted of genocide and war crimes in 2017. 25 years after the Srebrenica massacre, Jolovic continues to deny that this genocide took place.
The photograph of Djokovic, who was also hunted together with the Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who calls for the independence of the Republika Srpska, territory of the majority of Serbian population on Bosnian soil and which awarded an award to Djokovic in 2020, has generated a lot of excitement in the Balkans and once again makes clear the division of opinions that exist about Djokovic in the region.
One of the most critical of the figure of Novak Djokovic was the Bosnian journalist Dragan Bursac, who wrote in his column on the Radio Sarajevo website and in statements collected by Al Jazeera. “Djokovic could have been the best of all time, representing the entire planet and helping in a billion ways. Yet he shares a decoration with war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, sings at the Dodik's wedding and eats with the military who organized the genocide. We can say that the best tennis player in the world, outside the tennis courts, acts as the Minister of the Interior of Serbia. “
Thus Djokovic faces a new controversy in the Balkan region, where he was already highly criticized in June of last year with the celebration of the controversial Adria Tour in the midst of a pandemic without any kind of restriction and in which Djokovic himself, his wife Jelena, Goran Ivanisevic or Grigor Dimitrov among others, tested positive for coronavirus during the celebration or in the days after the tournament.