Security staff and spectators remove the 23-year-old from the stands during the men’s final at Wimbledon.Credit:
The 23-year-old Queenslander,who contested May’s federal election as an independent candidate on an anti-communist party platform,rose to his feet during the match and held up a sign “Where is Peng Shuai?” He then yelled the phrase as he was confronted by security,later alleging that his treatment became physical during the altercation which followed.
“Just got thrown down the stairs by Wimbledon security for holding up a sign saying #WhereIsPengShuai,” he wrote on social media following his eviction. “One of them smashed my head into the wall.”
Three-time Olympian Peng – who won the Wimbledon doubles in 2013 – became the subject of global concern when she disappeared from public view last year after alleging former government official Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her.
Her social media post was subsequently removed,and she disappeared from public view for three weeks,leading the women’s tour to suspend all of its tournaments in China,with the WTA not returning to the country this year. She has since re-emerged ina series of contrived events claiming she had been misinterpreted.
Wimbledon officials on Sunday rejected the claim that excessive force was used.
An All England Club spokesperson said:“A spectator was removed from Centre Court after disrupting play by shouting,running down the stairs and causing a nuisance to their fellow spectators. The individual was removed by security colleagues and escorted off the grounds.”