SALT LAKE CITY — Damian Steiner, the umpire for the Wimbledon final earlier this year between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, was fired after giving unauthorized interviews, according to The New York Times.
Steiner served as the chair umpire for the Grand Slam men’s singles for the first time in July, watching over the classic battle between Djokovic and Federer.
Steiner was fired by his employer, the ATP Tour. He was originally dismissed on Aug. 15 after he gave interviews with Argentinean press organizations without the consent from the ATP.
“Much of the content of Steiner’s media interviews were a direct violation of the standard protocol in place whereby officials must refrain from discussing specific incidents or matches, individual players, other officials, or rules, in the interest of maintaining impartiality at all times,” the ATP told The New York Times in a statement, confirming Steiner had been fired.
The U.S. Open, which began on Monday, is trying to be more open about its umpire decisions. The tournament will offer news media better opportunities to talk to the tournament’s top officials, according to USA Today.