At the end of a ten-day health and sports saga, Novak Djokovic saw his visa revoked again on Friday by the Australian government due to doubts about the justifications provided by the Serbian player for his exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine. The world number one’s team of lawyers immediately challenged this decision in federal court in Melbourne.
In the early evening (local time) Friday, they obtained that their client is not placed in detention for the moment. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic must appear on Saturday at dawn before the immigration services, which could then decide to lock him up again, while the justice system rules on his case.
Earlier in the day, Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had exercised his discretion to revoke ‘Nole’s’ visa. This very political decision, while the government was under pressure a few months before the elections scheduled for May, may have serious consequences if justice does not agree with the Serb: it involves a three-year ban on entry to Australia for Novak Djokovic.
“In making this decision, I have carefully considered the information provided to me by the Home Office, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic, explained the minister in a press release. I have today exercised my authority under Section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr. Novak Djokovic for health reasons […] on the grounds that it was in the public interest to do so.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson confirmed his immigration minister’s decision to deport the player in a statement: “Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and rightly want the outcome of those sacrifices to be protected.”
The call or the plane
The number 1 in world tennis is however in the table of the Australian Open, the draw of which took place on Thursday: he was to play against the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, 78th in the world, in the first round. In recent days, regardless of the many debates about him, he has continued to train in Melbourne in hopes of winning a 10th Australian Open title, and a 21st Grand Slam victory, which would be a record.
When the government’s decision fell, the 34-year-old Serb’s lawyers, unsurprisingly, very quickly appealed. They could not wait to make an appeal because “Nole” risked being sent home before the end of the day, or placed again in the Park Hotel in Carlton. When he arrived in Melbourne on January 5, he had already had to sleep for five nights in this hotel where illegal aliens are detained for sometimes several years. Before his lawyers won a resounding victory on January 10, obtaining from federal judge Anthony Kelly that he restore his visa and order his immediate release.
Novak Djokovic ‘played by his own rules’
Earlier in the week, the world number 1 admitted to having filled out his declaration of entry into Australia incorrectly, and not having respected the rules of isolation after a positive test for Covid-19 in December in Serbia. He hoped that this contamination would allow him to benefit from an exemption to enter Australia without being vaccinated. In a long message posted on Instagram on Wednesday, however, he acknowledged some “errors in judgement”. While partly placing the blame on his advisers.
Since the start of the affair, some players have pleaded for Djokovic to be able to participate in the Grand Slam despite the scandals. When others were much more critical. Novak Djokovic “played by his own rules” choosing not to get vaccinated before the Australian Open and “makes the majority of players look like idiots”, estimated Thursday the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, world number 4, in an interview with the Indian media WION. “It takes a lot of nerve to do it and it puts the whole tournament at risk… I don’t think many players would do that”, he added.
Update at 12:20 p.m. with the government’s decision not to dismiss Novak Djokovic for the time being and his appearance scheduled for Saturday morning.