On Monday, a court in Melbourne will decide whether the Serbian tennis player Djokovic will be allowed to stay in the country and participate in the Australian Open, or, like a Czech player, will be deported. The player’s vaccination status is unclear, his lawyers point to a positive corona test in December.
In his home country Serbia Novak Djokovic is considered a national hero, supporters protested for him in Belgrade on January 8, 2022.
so. / (Bloomberg) Tennis star Novak Djokovic received a special permit from the Australian authorities to enter the country due to a positive Covid-19 test on December 16. This was stated by his lawyers in court documents ahead of a hearing on Monday. World number one lawyers said Djokovic had received a waiver from Tennis Australia, the Australian sports federation – and a document from the Home Office on Jan. 1.
“Mr Djokovic understood this to mean that he was entitled to enter Australia and Victoria and take part in the Australian Tennis Open,” the lawyers wrote. The 35-page brief was published on Saturday. Djokovic has been staying in a hotel used to accommodate refugees and asylum seekers since January 5 after his visa was revoked upon landing in Melbourne.
A virtual hearing in front of the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Melbourne to decide whether the tennis star will be allowed entry. A decision against him could result in his deportation, which would destroy his chance of a record of 21 Grand Slam victories.
The British newspaper “Daily Mail” published public pictures of the tennis star at an event with children in Belgrade at the time he allegedly tested positive for Covid on Saturday. He also attended an event in Belgrade on December 16 where he was presented with a personalized Serbian postage stamp, although he did not cover the ceremony until the next day. Djokovic also attended an event held by his foundation on December 16.
Australian Treasury Secretary Simon Birmingham said on Channel Nine Sunday there was a “clear difference” between visa and entry requirements, which state that “if you are not an Australian citizen, you have to be double-vaccinated to enter Australia.” » Birmingham said this was a “very clear entry requirement” and was “communicated very clearly to Tennis Australia”.
Another player has already been deported
Czech tennis player Renata Voracova was deported from Australia late Saturday, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported after participating in a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open earlier this week. Her visa was canceled by the Australian Border Force after she entered with the same type of vaccination waiver as Djokovic in late December, according to the ABC.
Vaccine skeptic Djokovic, 34, said in 2020 that he was personally against vaccines. However, he later made it clear that he was not an expert and that he would make the right decision for him. Djokovic has not yet disclosed his vaccination status. “I don’t want to be forced to get vaccinated in order to travel,” Djokovic said in 2020, months before the first vaccines against the coronavirus were available.
He is known to test positive for Covid-19 in 2020 shortly after organizing a tennis tournament in Belgrade while most professional sports were still banned. At least three other players were infected with the corona virus after the tournament.
International incident
Djokovic is being held at the Park Hotel in Melbourne, notorious for its poor conditions and where maggots have even been found in the food. An Australian newspaper reported that Djokovic was denied access to a personal chef and a tennis court. The incident has sparked tension between Serbia, where Djokovic is considered a national hero, and Australia, which is grappling with new record numbers of new infections every day.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the Serbian media that the government had managed to get Djokovic a laptop, a SIM card and an exercise machine, as well as a shipment of gluten-free food to meet his restricted diet.