World Athletics president Lord Coe says “the door is always open” for protest groups to engage in dialogue to help end disruption at sporting events.
A number of showpiece occasions have been targeted by protesters this year.
Sunday’s Diamond League athletics meeting in Stockholm was interrupted by activists, while Just Stop Oil supporters twice halted play on a minor court at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
“The door at World Athletics is always open and has been open,” said Lord Coe.
The 66-year-old, speaking after a Sport and Sustainability panel event at the All England Club, added: “We have engaged in these conversations and the London Marathon had an interesting discourse with those same organisations just a month or two ago.
“I think there was a mutual understanding that the London Marathon was a really good platform for lots of really good incentives and they avoided that clash.”
Looking at the latest disruption by protesters, broadcaster Gary Lineker said he could “understand why they do it” and that creating a discussion about environmental issues was “important”.
Wednesday’s incidents at Wimbledon saw a man and woman run on to court 18 during the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro, throwing confetti and jigsaw pieces on to the grass. The man sat down on the grass court before he was removed.
A couple of hours later another man ran on to the same court, where British number one Katie Boulter had just resumed her rain-interrupted first-round match against Australian Daria Saville.
The All England Club (AELTC) said in a statement: “We are disappointed that three individuals sought to disrupt the enjoyment of others and we continue to work closely with our partners in the Metropolitan Police as we look into every aspect of [Wednesday’s] events.”
The AELTC added: “We believe that Wimbledon, along with other major sporting bodies and events, has a meaningful role to play in helping to protect the environment, today and for the future.”
Home secretary Suella Braverman condemned the actions of the protesters at Wimbledon as “selfish” and “unacceptable”, and said she had chaired a meeting at Downing Street with representatives of various sports organisations to try to “prevent further disruptions”.
The meeting followed a spate of protests at high-profile sporting events, with the environmental protest group Just Stop Oil – which calls for the government to halt all new oil, gas and coal projects – disrupting…
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