Novak Djokovic is unlikely to take part in the Australian Open.
The Serbian tennis star has been arrested again. Djokovic’s lawyers announced this on Saturday, as reported by news agencies.
Djokovic is to be questioned by the immigration authorities in Melbourne on Saturday.
The final judgment of the federal court is expected on Sunday.
According to court documents, the 34-year-old Serb is now being held at a location in Melbourne while a court considers his appeal against his deportation from Australia. Djokovic spent the last weekend at the Park deportation hotel in Cranton.
The Australian government argued, according to court documents, that the unvaccinated tennis player’s presence in the country could “promote anti-vaccination sentiment”. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke justified the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa with “reasons of health and public order”.
Nadal has “many questions”
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The Spanish tennis pro Rafael Nadal is a bit fed up with the ongoing issue of Novak Djokovic before the start of the Australian Open and demands answers in the cause. “In my opinion, there are many questions that need to be answered in this case. I think it would be good if everything clarified soon, »said the sixth in the world rankings on Saturday in Melbourne and explained that from his point of view it was important to talk about the sport.
It is clear that Djokovic is one of the best tennis players in history. “But no tennis player in history is more important than the event,” said the 35-year-old. «If he plays at the end, ok. If he doesn’t play, the Australian Open will be a great Australian Open – with or without him.”
An Australian court scheduled the hearing on Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation for Sunday at 9:30 a.m. local time (Saturday evening 11:30 p.m. German time). Judge David O’Callaghan said Saturday the court will be in touch with all parties to clarify whether the case will be heard by a single judge or by the court as a whole later today. According to a court order on Friday evening, Djokovic is due to appear in Melbourne on Saturday for questioning by Australian immigration officials.
Visa invalidated for the second time
On Friday, the Australian government declared Djokovic’s visa invalid for a second time. The 34-year-old Serb had won his 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open in Melbourne and wanted to set a new record. Participation of the world number one at the Australian Open is not yet impossible, but unlikely. The tournament starts on Monday.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke exercised his right on Friday and canceled Djokovic’s visa again. “Today I exercised my right to void Mr. Novak Djokovic’s visa,” Hawke said, “on the basis that it is in the public interest to do so.”
The Migration Act
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Under the 1958 directive, the Secretary of State for Immigration can withdraw a visa if a person poses a risk – such as a health risk – to the Australian population. The power to annul is enshrined in Section 133C(3) of the Migration Act.
According to the law, tennis pro Djokovic can no longer apply for a visa for Australia “except under certain circumstances” for three years. “Certain circumstances include compelling circumstances affecting the interests of Australia or compelling circumstances affecting the interests of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen,” the ministry said.
In the public interest?
The tennis star has appealed against having his visa for Australia canceled again. Apparently, the government justified its decision by saying that Djokovic could stir up public sentiment against corona vaccinations – at least that’s what the Serb’s lawyers put it. The lawyers could try to show that the decision made was not in the public interest.
What is at stake for Djokovic
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In Melbourne, Novak Djokovic is the record winner with nine titles – he might not be allowed to compete for three years in a row. In the hunt for the 21st Grand Slam title, with which he would leave Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal behind in the leaderboard, he would miss his best tournament in the future. In the short term, he would also be threatened with losing the top position in the world rankings, which Djokovic has held without interruption for almost two years. His pursuers Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev could climb them – and for both of them the chances of further major titles would be significantly greater.
His lawyers’ request that Djokovic remain in his rented premises until the end of the negotiations was not granted. But Judge Anthony Kelly at the same time prohibited the authorities from expelling Djokovic from the country until a valid verdict has been reached.
A decision in the cause is to be made on Sunday at the highest instance before the Federal Court of Australia, a federal court.
The dispute at a glance
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On January 5, the 34-year-old was refused entry into the country because he was not vaccinated against the corona virus and the authorities did not have sufficient documentation for his medical exemption.
Therefore he was transferred to a hotel for people who had to leave the country. On January 10, a Melbourne court ruled in favor of the 34-year-old tennis star, ordering his release from the deportation facility. The reason: the border officials would not have given Djokovic the agreed time for clarification.
But there are still inconsistencies: the tennis star argued for an entry permit during his accommodation with a positive corona test from mid-December. He was later accused of having appeared in public at exactly this time despite a positive corona test because of a media appointment and thus violated the regulations in Serbia and thus endangered others.
On Wednesday, Djokovic denied intentional misrepresentation and endangering other people, but acknowledged mistakes in dealing with his positive test result. He primarily defended himself against two allegations via Instagram: he neither intentionally gave false information about his travel behavior in the 14 days before the flight to Australia, nor did he, knowing that he had a positive corona test, attend an event with children in December and go there moved without a mask.
Australia vs – Serbia for Djokovic
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also defended the decision. “Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic and they rightly expect the outcome of those sacrifices to be protected,” he said.
With the exception of the Serbian community, the mood in Australia is clearly against Djokovic. “I definitely understand the people here,” said Germany’s best tennis player Angelique Kerber a few hours before the decision and formulated it carefully. A journalist points to a survey by various newspapers of 60,000 people. 83 percent of respondents thought Djokovic had no right to stay in Australia.
Presidential support for Djokovic
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, on the other hand, has reiterated his support for Novak Djokovic. “The attacks and pressure on Novak Djokovic, a citizen of Serbia, are incomprehensible to me,” he said in a speech he published on Instagram on Friday.
In his speech, Vucic complained about the “pressure that Serbia is exposed to”. But the Serbs were “not able to take away their dignity and pride” in their history. The President concluded his speech with the words: “Long live Serbia! Novak, Serbia is with you!”
Djokovic described the “misinformation” that needed to be corrected as “hurting and upsetting to my family”. However, he admitted that he already knew about his positive test result in an interview with the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on December 18 and still did not cancel the appointment.
“Although I went home after the interview and went into isolation for the prescribed period, on reflection that was a miscalculation and I recognize that I should have postponed this commitment,” he wrote.
Djokovic described the fact that his entry form incorrectly stated that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia as a “human error” by his agent, “which was certainly not intentional”.