Australia wins ‘entry visa’, Djokovic is deported

A few hours after arriving at Melbourne Airport, Dubai border guards told Djokovic on Wednesday that he did not meet entry rules and would be deported. Djokovic was taken to a solitary confinement hotel, but his lawyers did not hesitate to file an urgent appeal with the court.

“Non-citizens who do not have an appropriate entry visa or whose visa has been revoked will be imprisoned and deported from Australia,” the Australian Border Guard said.

According to the border guard, Djokovic was unable to present a valid entry certificate.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison denied that anyone would take a special action against Djokovic because the laws set by the state are the same for everyone. Djokovic’s public stance against vaccination attracted the attention of border guards, Morrison added.

After Djokovic arrived at Melbourne airport, officials found that the athlete’s representatives had erroneously applied for an inappropriate type of visa that did not qualify for the Covid-19 vaccination exemption. Djokovic has been allowed to compete in the Australian Open without being vaccinated for medical reasons.

All participants in the Australian Open must be vaccinated against Covid-19 or have a medical exemption. Djokovic has not made public whether he has been vaccinated against Covid-19, but last year he said he was opposed to the vaccination.

Australian Open Championship organizers believe Djokovic’s exemption from vaccination against Covid-19 received reasonably after an anonymised assessment by independent medical experts without any special favor or advantage. However, granting an exemption to Djokovic has caused widespread outrage in Australian society, which is facing many severe restrictions due to the pandemic.

The first Grand Slam tournament in Australia will start on January 17th. Djokovic is the nine-time winner of the Australian Open, remaining unbeaten in the first Grand Slam of the season last year.

–