Angry Serbian Australians have lodged an official complaint with the Human Rights Commission over Channel 9 reporter Tony Jones' comments about tennis star Novak Djokovic, claiming they were racist.
Djokovic boycotted on-court interviews at the Australian Open and demanded an apology from Channel 9 for comments he called “insulting” and mocking toward Serbian fans.
Host Tony Jones allegedly encouraged Djokovic's fans to cheer while mocking him live, unbeknownst to the crowd.
“Welcome back to Melbourne Park, where you can see the Novak Djokovic fans, they are in full voice,” Jones said. “The chants are quite extraordinary.”
Then he turned to face them and delivered some of his own sleigh chants: “Novak, he's overrated,” Jones sang. 'Novak is a past. Novak, kick him out.
'Wow, I'm glad they can't hear me. Anyway, let's move on to tennis.
Djokovic declined a post-match interview following his victory over Jiri Lehecka, prompting some boos from the audience. Instead, he issued a prepared statement, reiterating his refusal to engage in dialogue with the broadcaster until the issue is resolved.
Jones publicly apologized on Monday.
Channel 9's Australian Open presenter Tony Jones offended the Serbian Council of Australia with comments he made during Friday's broadcast.
Jones mocked Djokovic (pictured) and his fans during the broadcast, prompting the Serbian star to boycott his on-court media engagements.
The Serbian Council of Australia posted its letter of complaint on the social media platform Facebook.
However, this is not enough for the Serbian Council of Australia, which has written a letter of complaint to the Human Rights Commission saying Jones' comments were offensive towards all Serbian Australians.
“A complaint has been made to the Human Rights Commission in relation to Mr Tony Jones and Channel 9 following comments made by Channel Nine sports commentator Mr Tony Jones during a live broadcast on the night of 17 January 2025,” the council statement said.
'Evidence from crowd members suggests that Mr Jones invited Australian-Serbian fans before a live broadcast and asked them to start singing and cheering.
'Fans were led to believe they would be filmed as part of a Channel Nine segment about Australian Open fans.
“However, the footage shows Mr Jones mocking the Australian Serbian fans behind him through both his comments and body language.
“Mr. Jones began the broadcast by saying that 'Novak, he's overrated.' He proceeded to exclaim that 'Novak is gone.' Novak, throw him out.”
For Serb Australians, the words “throw him out” are similar to saying “expel Serbs from Australia” because there is strong evidence of feelings of exclusion due to media reports about Serb Australians in the past.
'SCOFA submitted a report to the Federal Government titled 'Experiences of defamation and discrimination of Australian Serbs following the deportation of Novak Djokovic in January 2022.'
Djokovic failed to honor his post-match media commitments on Sunday, only telling the crowd that he would not conduct interviews until the issue was resolved.
It shows that the Australian-Serb community was exposed to anti-Serb sentiment during and after Novak Djokovic's deportation. Much of this anti-Serb sentiment was fueled by negative media towards Serbs in general.
The council then lists a series of demands, including calls for Jones to be fired.
'We hereby demand that Channel 9:1. Immediately suspend Mr Tony Jones from all sports broadcasting duties on Channel 9, in particular all duties relating to the Australian Open 2025;2.
Firing Mr. Tony Jones from his broadcasting role at Channel 9
'Please send to SCOFA, and in particular the Australian-Serbian community and all Australian Open fans, a formal apology, which will be published on the Channel 9 website, in the newspaper and on television.'
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Jones was being racist when he made the comments about Djokovic.
The complaint was met with a mixed reception from Australians, with many applauding the Serbian Council of Australia's move.
'Tony Jones needs to face the consequences of his actions. “I can't disagree with the official statement of the Serbian committee,” one fan posted.
“Channel 9 needs this lesson and defeat Tony Jones,” added another.
Djokovic wrote a message to his Serbian fans on camera after his victory in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
But there were also several comments saying the council's move went too far.
“It was all going to be a joke. SCOA is offended. He apologized. Get over it,' one follower fumed.
“Tony Jones has said worse things about more sensitive topics,” another posted.
But the SCOA responded to those comments, saying they would think differently if they mocked former Australian tennis champion Ash Barty.
“You might think differently if this were a group of fans with Australian flags supporting Ash Barty at Wimbledon or the French Open who were asked to cheer and then were mocked by the host broadcaster. them,” SCOA responded.
While Djokovic did not speak to the media after his Australian Open victory on Sunday, he did send a message to his fans by signing “Bog se javi” in Cyrillic in front of a broadcast camera.
The message was addressed to Serbian fans celebrating the Serbian Orthodox holiday Bogojavljenje, or Theophany, on January 29.
“Bog se javi” translates as “God reveals himself” and is a traditional Serbian Orthodox greeting associated with Bogojavljenje.
It reflects the central theme of the celebration: the revelation of the Holy Trinity during the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.
Despite saying he wouldn't be signing autographs, Djokovic came out of the locker room to sign some for his adoring fans anyway.
Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals after the Spaniard beat Jack Draper to book his place in week two at Melbourne Park.
The Human Rights Commission did not rule on the complaint filed about Jones' behavior, but did issue a brief statement.
“The Commission does not comment on or disclose information about individual complaints,” it said.
'This includes not being able to confirm or deny whether a complaint has been made. Complaints to the Commission are confidential to protect the privacy of all parties involved, and all Commission staff are required to comply with strict confidentiality obligations.'