Corentin Moutet has been slapped with a heavy fine (Image: Getty)
Corentin Moutet has been fined a hefty £12,000 after accusing the umpires of “getting drunk” every night.
Moutet reached the third round of the for the first time this year, beating Alexei Popyrin and Mitchell Krueger en route.
It was during his game against Krueger that the French hopeful went on a rant about the chair umpires, claiming they’ve spent too much time on the drink.
Mid-match against the American, Moutet was heard saying: “Man, every night, all the referees are getting drunk here. And then the next day, they are ruining the game. How is that possible, man?
“I’m here fighting, I’m working every day. I’m fighting to be here. And they are ruining the game like this. And I’m supposed to stay calm? How is that possible?”
The punishment doesn’t explicitly reference the drinking comment made by Moutet, with the 25-year-old instead fined for “unsportsmanlike conduct”, but it’s likely his outburst has plenty to do with it.
It came after he’d already hit out at the chair umpire. Deep into the second set, he said: “What the f**k, man, how can you call this not-up? Something like this, you call the wrong ball? Stop being like, ‘Why are you p****d?’ I’m p****d because you call the wrong ball. That’s the problem: you have one thing to watch. You can’t focus on this and do mistake, that’s insane.”
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Corentin Moutet made it to the third round of the Australian Open for the first time (Image: Getty)
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Before later adding: “Man it’s always the same. You guys do errors or mistakes and you are surprised we are p****d about it. Of course I’m p****d about it.
“Who is shocked about what I said? It’s crazy man, you are tripping. Every time it’s the same s**t with you guys It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s your mistake.
“It’s crazy. It’s crazy. It’s your mistake and you are acting like I did a mistake. Take it out. Take out the warning. Cancel it. Cancel it. Cancel it right now…Now you make everybody lose time because of your mistake. Now we are losing 10 minutes. You’re getting paid to getting paid for that.”
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Moutet could have no complaints during his third-round match against Learner Tien, who defeated the French ace in straight sets.
Clearly unable to bring his A-game, one hour before taking to the court.
He said: “I felt unwell 45 minutes before the match, in the shower. I woke up on the floor. Everything was black, I couldn’t see well. It’s strange because I felt ready and fit, I didn’t have any aches, nothing.”