A family home had been reduced to rubble following a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.
When tennis star Dayana Yastremska shared images of the destruction, a Serbian coach responded with two words that would have serious consequences.
Wrote ‘Bravo, Russia’
Yastremska said her family’s apartment was destroyed during the Russian attack on Odesa on the night of September 12.
According to the Ukrainian player, the 22nd floor of the apartment building was hit directly by a Kalibr cruise missile.
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“This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like,” she wrote, according to Suspilne Sport.
A comment from Serbian tennis coach Vladimir Odobašić appeared beneath the post shortly afterwards.
“Bravo, Russia,” he wrote, according to Digi24.
The comment was later deleted, but screenshots quickly spread across social media.
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Called for the death of several countries
The controversial response was not Odobašić’s only inflammatory statement.
In another comment, he wrote:
“Death to Croatia and Germany and all their allies, and to the enemies of Greater Serbia and Russia.”
The Serbian coach also shared images of a fire on the Croatian island of Brač, writing that those responsible would pay for every innocent Serbian victim and every Serbian tear that had been shed.
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The remarks sparked particular anger because Odobašić has worked closely with young players. His career has primarily focused on junior development, individual coaching and international tennis camps, according to Sportske novosti.
Membership no longer valid
The response from the tennis world came quickly.
Odobašić’s profile with the Global Professional Tennis Coach Association now states that his membership has been suspended and is no longer valid. The notice can be seen on the organisation’s official website.
He held the organisation’s highest A-Level qualification and had more than 23 years of coaching experience.
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The suspension does not amount to a general ban from working in tennis. It does, however, mean that Odobašić has lost his valid membership and status within the international coaching organisation.
The case has also renewed scrutiny of the responsibility carried by sports professionals on social media. The criticism is not simply about political opinions, but about a coach publicly celebrating the destruction of a family home while using language that called for the death of other nations.
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