Djokovic, a vaccine sceptic, prompted widespread anger in Australia last week when he announced he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption from requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19.
On his arrival, Australian Border Force officials decided his exemption was invalid and he was held alongside asylum-seekers at an immigration detention hotel for several days.
Australian media reported that Djokovic’s team had applied for the wrong type of visa for a person with a medical exemption.
Djokovic’s lawyers appealed the decision, which came after the 20-time major winner had to spend more than eight hours at the at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport waiting to find out if he would be allowed into the country. Eventually Djokovic won the case.
Djokovic confirms error
Novak Djokovic has moved to clarify how mistakes were made on the immigration document he submitted on his arrival in Melbourne last week, before his visa was revoked and then reinstated in a COVID-19 vaccination saga that has overshadowed the days leading up to the Australian Open.
However Novak Djokovic, brought an end to a number of unanswered questions pertaining to the Australian Open 2022 saga on social media, issuing a much-awaited statement.
Public statement
Djokovic clarified a number of topics, ranging from the allegations of him attending some public events after the December 16 Covid test to the incorrectly-filled Travel Declaration form.
The lengthy statement from Djokovic was an attempt to settle a few controversial questions that had erupted after his visa was cancelled by the Australian authorities, making him ineligible to participate in the Australian Open 2022.
The Serbian was also set to be deported back to his country but he won the deportation case against the Aussie government and is presently preparing for the Grand Slam that begins on January 19. However, the saga is far from being resolved.
December 16, 2021
Many have questioned Djokovic over his decision to attend public events after December 16, the date on which the 20-time Grand Slam champion claimed to have undergone an RT-PCR test which turned out to be positive. In his statement, however, Djokovic said that the result of the test hadn’t come on December 16 itself.
Djokovic even said that it wasn’t him but his agent that had filled the Travel Declaration form and had made a ‘human error’ while disclosing his travel details. But, these clarification statements have given birth to some even more complicated questions.
Was the L’Equipe team aware of Djokovic being positive for Covid-19?
Djokovic said that he had come to know of him testing positive for Covid-19 after the December 17 PR event that he had attended where he was also seen hugging a number of kids. However, Djokovic himself admitted that he was quite aware of him carrying the virus while giving the L’Equipe interview in Belgrade (Serbia).
The tennis great justified the decision saying that he did not want to ‘let down the journalist’ to whom he had made the commitment.
But, couldn’t the interview be done in a virtual mode since Djokovic was already carrying the virus? Also, was the journalist and other staff at L’Equipe aware of Djokovic’s positive Covid-19 test?
Will Djokovic be penalised for breaking Serbia’s Covid-19 rules?
It has to be noted that in an affidavit, which is a legally sworn document relied on by the Federal Circuit Court, Djokovic had himself said: “On 16 December 2021, I was tested and diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID).”
The statement, hence, contradicts the claims he made in the statement, according to which the confirmation hadn’t come till December 17. Also, as per Serbia’s Covid-19 rules, if someone breaks the country’s coronavirus regulations, he or she is liable to be fined and could even be jailed for up to three years.
Having gone for the L’Equipe interview by breaking the isolation protocols, Djokovic is legally bound to be penalised by the Serbian government as he had broken isolation protocols.
What sort of action is taken against him by the Serbian authorities (if at all), remains to be seen.
How did his team give wrong information on the Travel Declaration without his consent?
Djokovic said that it wasn’t him but his agent that had filled his Travel Declaration document. According to the form, Djokovic hadn’t travelled anywhere 14 days before his flight to Australia. However, in his statement, the Serb confirmed that it isn’t the actual truth.
Djokovic said that he had gone to Belgrade before finally reaching Dubai from where the flight to Australia was taken. Djokovic said that his agent had mistakenly ticked the wrong box, and the same should only be interpreted as a ‘human error’ and not a deliberate move.
However, it is difficult to understand how Djokovic’s agent filled the entire form without confirming certain details with him, considering the sensitivity of the situation.
Djokovic included in Australian Open draw
Djokovic has been included in the Australian Open official draw although uncertainty remains about whether the government will cancel his visa for a second time.
Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is weighing exercising his discretionary powers to revoke Djokovic’s visa over concerns regarding the tennis player’s medical exemption from Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Djokovic, who was out practising in the Rod Laver Arena earlier on Thursday, drew unseeded fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening round match, expected to be played on Monday or Tuesday.
There is widespread anger over the saga among Australians, who have a 90 percent vaccination rate among adults and are battling a wave of the Omicron variant after enduring some of the world’s longest lockdowns aimed at curbing the pandemic.
Visa cancellation and deportation from Australia
Djokovic left Australia late on Sunday after the Federal Court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status.
Under immigration law, Djokovic cannot now be granted another visa for three years unless the Australian immigration minister accepts there are compelling or compassionate reasons.
However, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has left the door open for Novak Djokovic to compete at next year’s Australian Open despite the tennis superstar facing an automatic three-year ban from entering the country.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s hopes of chasing a record 21st Grand Slam.
In a rollercoaster ride, the world’s top men’s player was first detained by immigration authorities on Jan. 6, ordered released by a court on Jan. 10 and then detained again on Saturday pending Sunday’s court hearing.
Djokovic, 34, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the ruling but he respected the court’s decision.
“I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and the tournament I love,” Djokovic said in a statement before flying out of Melbourne.
