Saturday, January 08, 2022
Photos raise new questions
Djokovic had Corona in December, lawyers say
Is that the turning point in the farce around tennis superstar Novak Djokovic? His lawyers explain in court that the Serb was infected with the coronavirus in December. There are doubts about that. And whether this is enough for an entry or not, should be decided on Monday.
In the affair of tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, his lawyers said at a court hearing that the Serb was infected with the corona virus for the second time in December. “The date of the first positive test was December 16,” said Djokovic’s representatives, according to the court released Documents. So far, Djokovic had not commented on a possible infection. He had also been silent about his vaccination status so far.
The 34-year-old Serb is still in a deportation hotel in Melbourne, awaiting a court decision on his possible entry into Australia. Djokovic was refused entry on Wednesday. The case is attracting worldwide attention.
In the court documents, his lawyers argue that Djokovic received a “medical exemption” from the tennis association Tennis Australia on December 30th. This applies to unvaccinated but recently recovered people whose illness was at least 14 days ago and who have had no symptoms in the last 72 hours. The approval was given by the association and examined by an independent expert commission from the state of Victoria.
The defending champion of the Australian Open had been granted a special permit to participate in the first Grand Slam of the year. That alone had caused great outrage in Australia, which only allows vaccinated people to enter the country. The situation escalated after the Australian authorities refused entry to Djokovic at the airport. They justified this with insufficient evidence. The Grand Slam record winner did not present “adequate evidence of compliance with the entry requirements”.
Who is telling the truth
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson said Djokovic failed to provide officials with proof of double vaccination or an appropriate medical exemption. “Rules are rules and there are no special cases,” said Morrison on Thursday. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic then spoke of a “political witch hunt”. The denied entry of Djokovic is also a hot topic within Australia. The association is accused of having misled the professionals. However, the association defends itself against these allegations. In a leaked video, association chief Craig Tiley said his team had done an “incredible job” and that any blame against Tennis Australia would come to nothing.
According to Australian media reports, Tennis Australia players were informed on December 7th that an infection in the past six months “now falls into a category under which they may be eligible for a temporary medical exemption”. This information was passed on to the professionals after a lengthy exchange with the Australian authorities. However, Australia’s Minister of Health Greg Hunt argues the amended travel regulations only apply to Australian citizens. The association had already pointed this out in November.
According to the evidence presented by the attorneys, searches for Djokovic’s tracks on the Internet began around December 16. the US tennis expert Ben Rothenberg proved on the basis of a series of tweets that the Serb showed himself to be without a mask at a panel discussion on the day of the alleged test and that the best tennis children in the country willingly available for selfies the following day, also without a mask. This is what happened at a young talent ceremony in the “Novak Tennis Center” in Belgrade.
Djokovic had already been infected at the beginning of the pandemic on the highly controversial Adriatic tour he had launched. Djokovic has never commented publicly on his vaccination statute – the documents published by the court have now adopted that for him. The exemption is a “medical exemption from Covid vaccination” on the basis of a recent infection, his lawyers said there.