No sanctions for Lahyani that will keep on officiating at the US Open

The umpire will have no consequences after he broke the protocol in New York

By
Luke Meyer
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lahyani

Mohamed Lahyani is definitely one of the best and likable umpires of the world.

Unfortunately, Mohamed went a bit too much out of this way to “help” Nick Kyrgios to provide a “too valuable” support to the Australian during his struggle against Herbert to stir all sort of criticism all over the places. (full story)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS_Tr5dOxcY

No sanctions

Eventually, the USTA (United States Tennis Association) took the (fantastic) decision not to penalize Mohamed that will keep on officiating during the tournament.

The statement

“After a comprehensive review conducted by US Open officials, including US Open tournament director David Brewer, tournament referee Brian Earley, and others, the US Open determined that chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani’s conduct during Thursday’s second-round match involving Nick Kyrgios and Pierre-Hugues Herbert went beyond protocol.

Lahyani was advised to adhere to proper protocols in all matches that he officiates moving forward. Lahyani will continue to officiate during the 2018 US Open. His performance will continue to be evaluated, as will that of all chair umpires throughout the course of the US Open.”

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The support from Djokovic

Lahyani is widely appreciated by the tennis players, and he received a lot of support.

Also, Djokovic commented

“I understand why people, maybe Herbert, is upset because that has happened. A chair umpire should be neutral.

But everybody who knows Mohamed knows he’s quite different from others. He’s always very positive; smiles tries to bring that energy to the court. He likes to make a show, as well, out of it.

Knowing Mohamed, I really don’t think that he meant to do it for any other reason but to really try to help Nick to understand that if he continues doing that he might get fined or a warning.”

We can’t disagree with Nole (and the others).

Good decision.

 

HE IS A NICE GUY
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