BarcelonaAustralian justice has ended the series that has been grabbing the attention of the world of sports for more than ten days: Novak Djokovic, who did not want to be vaccinated against covid-19, will have to leave the country and will not be able to defend the Australian Open champion crown, a tournament that starts this Monday. This was the unanimous decision of the three judges who reviewed the tennis player’s appeal during a trial that lasted about five hours and ended with Djokovic saying goodbye to his promised land. Djokovic said in a statement that he was “respecting the decision” after “cooperating” with the Australian authorities and that he was “deeply disappointed”. He also called for time to “rest and recover” before making new comments, while the Serbian press described the decision as “the biggest embarrassment in the history of the sport”.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on Friday used his special powers to cancel the Serb’s visa for health and law enforcement purposes, as if he is allowed to stay in the country he can revive the feeling of people who oppose getting vaccinated against covid-19. Djokovic traveled to Melbourne on January 5 with a medical exemption for not being vaccinated, having recently been infected with Covid-19, although on arrival the Immigration authorities canceled his visa and left him. detained until his release last Monday by a court order considering that he was not treated with “fairness”. The tennis player was arrested again on Saturday after his new visa was revoked and is being held in solitary confinement at the Park Hotel in Melbourne.
A danger to public health
During the statement, all parties presented their arguments for the participation or not of the tennis player in the competition that is about to begin and highlighted the mistakes that could have been made for Djokovic to enter the country without being vaccinated, contrary to the law of the country. Following the announcement of the judges’ decision, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the verdict is in the “public interest”. “This cancellation decision was taken for health, safety and law enforcement reasons,” the minister said in a statement.
The madness of not wanting to be vaccinated and the mistakes made in the visa application process have ended up punishing the world number one Serbian player. The suspicions about whether Djokovic hid a trip to Marbella before flying to Australia, and whether he manipulated a PCR test to simulate a false positive, would have been the drops that have spilled the glass of patience of the Australian government that the he was arrested again last Friday. The judge, after hearing the parties, has ruled that the tennis player does not meet the requirements to continue on Australian territory and, in addition to leaving him immediately without being able to play in the Open.
In recent months, the Serb had refused to say whether he had been vaccinated, although on April 20, 2020, during a Facebook Live in which he participated with other Serbian athletes, he said that “personally, I oppose I don’t want anyone to force me to get vaccinated so I can travel. ” Last season, the bubble system in non-spectator tournaments allowed athletes to compete without being vaccinated, but this year many governments are demanding a full vaccination schedule, and Djokovic has given up playing first tournament in Sydney, but finally announced that he would be in Melbourne to be credited with being considered a medical exception, the first time he had publicly admitted that he had not been vaccinated. and independent to evaluate the medical exemptions that will allow us to guarantee a safe Australian Open 2022 for all ”, said then the director of the tournament, Craig Tiley. Two panels of medical experts analyzed the cases considered as an exception, accepting three cases: having passed the virus in previous months, proving a bad reaction to the vaccine or a serious medical condition that advises not to be vaccinated. In the case of the Serb, he explained that he had passed the virus for the second time, in December 2021.
Will he be able to compete in other tournaments?
Under the law, Djokovic also faces a three-year ban on returning to the country, with certain exceptions, which may include “compelling circumstances affecting Australia’s interests.” The Serbian team of lawyers has, in fact, worked to make it clear that the player is working with the authorities to try to prevent this ban from becoming real and that he can return to the tournament next season. Djokovic, 34, has won the Australian Open 9 times more than any other player. This year he was the favorite to be the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles. Now, one of the favorites is Rafa Nadal. The Mallorcan, the Serbian and Federer have so far won the same figure, 20 titles. Last season, Djokovic was the great dominator of the circuit, winning three of the four Grand Slams.
In fact, Djokovic is now in a compromised position if he wants to continue competing in top-level tournaments. The French authorities, the country where the second Grand Slam of the season will arrive at Roland Garros next June, have explained that if they can play there, top athletes will not be affected by the same rules as tourists. Instead, the British and US authorities are demanding a full vaccination schedule, which would leave Djokovic unable to play at Wimbledon and the US Open. The people in charge of the professional circuit, the ATP, work with the authorities of each country. These days they have reminded us that the rules can change over the months. In 2021, for example, Djokovic was able to compete in these tournaments because without spectators, the authorities created a security bubble for players without requiring vaccination. Now the rules have changed.
Djokovic, disappointed
The tennis player has asked for time to “rest and recover” before talking more about the case, although in a first statement he explained that he “respects” the decision of the Australian judiciary after “cooperating” with the authorities. “Unfortunately for the last few weeks the focus has been on me and I hope we can now focus on the sport and the tournament I love.” The Serb was scheduled to make his debut this Monday at the Rod Laver Arena in front of his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, but after the court decision, his place will be taken by the Italian Caruso, number 150 in the world.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has handed down a unanimous court ruling allowing the tennis player to be deported, explaining that “Australia’s strong border protection policies have kept us safe during the pandemic, which has resulted in “In one of the lowest mortality rates, the strongest economic recoveries and the highest vaccination rates in the world, Australians have made great sacrifices to get to this point.” Judges have ruled that Djokovic endangered public health, although Serbian defense lawyers have argued otherwise, arguing that he was allowed to compete, as Australian law allows entry without being vaccinated if you can argue that you passed the disease the previous days. The judges, however, recalled that despite having tested positive, Djokovic took part in events in Belgrade, some of them without a mask, citing him as a negative example. In addition, when applying for the entry visa, he did not mention that he had spent the previous 15 days in Spain, when he had been training in Marbella. The Serb argued that it had been a human error of his team to apply for the visa, adding that the acts in which he participated in Belgrade were done when he was unaware that it was positive. Djokovic if he admitted to giving an interview to the French newspaper ‘The team after the positive, not to “leave the journalist lying.”
Outrage at the Serbian government
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has described the case as a “witch hunt” against the player. “They wanted to show the world how the world order works and what they can do against anyone,” said the populist politician. “They have been mistreating a tennis player for ten days and finally handed him a decision whose content they knew from day one. They have lied. The Australian government has said that the level of vaccination in Serbia is below 50%. do not lie, as 58% have been officially vaccinated, even 62% if the actual number of people living in Serbia is taken into account, “said Vucic. According to the international statistics platform “Our World in Data”, the percentage of people with a complete vaccine schedule reaches only 47% in Serbia.
A 15-day series
The case began in late 2021, when organizing the tournament, the Australian authorities doubted whether they could include the world number one on suspicion that he was not vaccinated. On January 5, however, Djokovic arrived in Melbourne with a medical exemption that allowed him to defend the title despite not being vaccinated. On landing he was interviewed for more than eight hours by border authorities for failing to comply with the requirements imposed by covid-19. The Australian government refused his visa and demanded that he leave the country.
The tennis player’s lawyers appealed to the Australian judiciary, while Djokovic was being taken to the Melbourne City Park Hotel, which also houses a group of asylum seekers detained by immigration authorities. Djokovic’s family said in a press conference in Belgrade that it was “the biggest diplomatic sports scandal in history”, while Serbian fans living in Australia demonstrated in their favor in front of the Hotel. Djokovic received the support of right-wing populist and anti-vaccine leaders around the world, such as Britain’s Nigel Farage. Australian public opinion, however, was in favor of his deportation, especially as he learned that he had received a medical exemption from entering Australia after being infected by Covid-19 on 16 December, which he had not avoided. that he continued to hold public events in Belgrade.
Djokovic won on January 9, when Australian government lawyers lost an appeal demanding that the hearing scheduled for Monday, January 10, on the deportation of the tennis player be postponed until Wednesday. Judge Anthony Kelly of the Melbourne Federal Circuit Court ordered the Australian Government to release Djokovic and hand over his passport and personal belongings, stating that at the time of his interrogation at the airport, no they followed the procedures.
Djokovic was released on January 11, but authorities were still investigating whether he had lied when he entered Australia when he said he had not visited a third country in the previous two weeks, which could lead to his visa being canceled. · Lat again. Images on social media showed that the Serb had passed through Spain, training for a few days in Marbella. The athlete admitted this, speaking in a statement of “human error” in the documents to enter Australia. Thus, on January 14, Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke again revoked Novak Djokovic’s visa, although he was not deported as his lawyers filed a new appeal. The player was transferred to the same hotel for the first time, until he lost the final appeal this Sunday.
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