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Serbian volleyball player Sanja Djurdjevic has been suspended for two games after she was caught on camera squinting with her fingers in response to an opposition player.
The incident happened on June 1 during a FIVB Women’s National Volleyball League match in which Serbia faced Thailand. She made the gesture after one of the opposing players failed to earn a point.
The Serbian federation was also fined $ 22,392. The ban means she will miss the next matches against Belgium and Canada.
Djurdjevic apologized in an Instagram post for his actions but subsequently deleted his account.
“I am aware of my mistake and immediately after the game I apologized to the whole Thai team,” Djurdjevic said, according to Vice News. “I just wanted to address my teammates with the message: ‘Now we are going to start playing defense like them’, I didn’t want to disrespect anyone.
“Of course, that was an unfortunate and not-so-smart move on my part.
“Many thanks to the Thai team for their understanding.”
The player supposedly the target of the gesture, Pleumjit Thinkaow, posted a message of forgiveness to Djurdjevic on Instagram.
“We are deeply saddened by the recent events that have taken place,” the Serbian federation said in a statement on Facebook.
“We sincerely apologize to the Thai team, the Thai people and all of you affected by this.
“But, please don’t distort this! Sanja is aware of her mistake and immediately apologized to the entire Thai team.
“It all ended with a simple misunderstanding, in a friendly atmosphere between the players of the two teams.
The Serbian team has already been caught using this gesture. In 2017, a team photo showed them squinting with their fingers after qualifying for the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship in Japan.
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