Romania Fed Cup captain Ilie Nastase has appealed after being banned from official roles by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) until 2021, the BBC informs.
The sanction followed his tirade at a Fed Cup tie in Bucharest in April.
He swore at an umpire, insulted British number one Johanna Konta and her captain Anne Keothavong and made a derogatory comment about Serena Williams’ unborn child.
Nastase, 70, was also fined USD 10,000.
As it stands, as well as being prevented from taking any official roles, he will not be accredited for ITF events until 2019. An independent tribunal will be arranged to hear his appeal.
Grand Slam tournaments are not included within the sanction, nor the respective ATP or WTA Tours, as they lie outside the jurisdiction of the ITF.
The ITF adjudication panel said his comment about Serena Williams’ unborn child was racially insensitive, adding that he made advances of a “sexual nature” towards Keothavong.
Nastase said his comments were intended as a joke and had been misinterpreted.
During the Fed Cup in April, Romanian player Simona Halep was answering a question in English about former world number one Williams and her pregnancy. Nastase then turned to one of his other team members and added in Romanian: “Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?”
Speaking to BBC Sport earlier in the year, he defended his comment, saying: “For me, it’s not racial. Somebody in England thinks it is.”
The ITF Internal Adjudication Panel has issued last month its decision in the case against Romanian Fed Cup Captain Ilie Nastase.
According to the International Tennis Federation, “Mr. Nastase was found guilty of breaching Articles a.ii.a, a.iii.a, a.iii.b, a.iv.c and a.v.b of the Fed Cup Welfare Policy under the 2017 ITF Fed Cup Regulations during the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas tie between Romania and Great Britain in Constanta in April.
As ‘Romania Journal’ reported on April 23, Romania’s non-player captain Ilie Nastase allegedly made some offensive comments against the British player and against the chair umpire. He was sent off the court during the Fed Cup match between Sorana Cirstea and Johanna Konta and was replaced by Monica Niculescu. Later on he allegedly revealed he was nervous because Konta was complaining too much about the wind, about phone calls in the stands and that the chair umpire said nothing about this. Offensive expressions from the stand have reportedly offended Johanna Konta, who burst into tears minutes later. The match was interrupted for 15 minutes.