Umpire who ejected Djokovic is banned over abuse of power allegations

Tennis has been unable to avoid controversy of late and it has emerged that umpire Soeren Friemel has been suspended for 12 months over claims of unethical conduct and abuses of power.

The German has been absent for months, although there is a suspicion that he entered a period of voluntary suspension as far back as June when the case against him was open.

Friemel famously expelled Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open, but in this instance Friemel was the subject of allegations made by a younger male umpire.

According to The Telegraph, a 12-month suspension was handed down in December, but the sentence was only finalised on Monday when Friemel's appeal was dismissed.

"Soeren remains under suspension and we are reviewing our course of action," explained a spokesperson for the governing body.

"The complaint was that Soeren made inappropriate comments and invitations to an individual.

"The issue was the situation of power imbalance, which led the investigating officer and the to find a breach of the code."