Novak Djokovic is unlikely to take part in the Australian Open.
Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke exercised his right to cancel Djokovic’s visa again.
Djokovic has to report to the customs authorities on Saturday morning local time. After that he will be taken into custody again. The final judgment of the federal court is expected on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic has again had his visa withdrawn by the Australian authorities. This was announced by Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke. A participation of the world number one at the Australian Open is not yet excluded, but unlikely.
“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.”
Legend:
Official statement from the ministry
srf
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.
Definitive decision on Sunday
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.
Djokovic has to report to the customs authorities on Saturday morning local time. He will then be arrested again, possibly again at the Park deportation hotel in Cranton, where he has already spent the last weekend.
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 list of the best, 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 for almost two years. His pursuers Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medwedew could climb these – and for both of them the chances of further big 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.
That is why he was transferred to a hotel for those obliged to leave the country. Then on January 10, a court in Melbourne ruled in favor of the 34-year-old tennis star and ordered his release from the detention facility for persons obliged to leave the country. The reason: The border officials would not have given Djokovic the agreed time to clarify.
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 appearing in public at exactly that time despite a positive corona test because of a media appointment and thus violating the regulations in Serbia and thus endangering 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”.
