After the news emerged about the errors in Djokovic’s visa application, the Federal Court of Australia expelled the tennis player, not vaccinated against Covid: he will not play the Australian Open. Now he risks a three-year ban on entry into the country. He left the continent
Novak Djokovic lost his appeal against Australia’s decision to cancel his visa, and was expelled from the country. The tennis player left the continent with a flight that took off around 12.30 Italian (22.30 Australian). Destination Dubai. The 34-year-old Serbian number 1 in world tennis therefore he will not be able to defend his title at the Australian Open, the first of the Slam tournaments of the 2022 season kicks off on Monday 17 January, and go in search of his 21 career Slam, which would knock him off Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, both at 20.
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The disappointment of Djokovic and his father
I am extremely disappointed from the court ruling that denied my application, which means that I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open. Now I’ll take some time to rest and recover, before making any further comments – hot commented Djokovic —. I respect the ruling of the Court and will collaborate with the competent authorities in relation to my departure from the country. I am sorry that the focus of the last few weeks has been on me and I hope that now we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love. I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for this edition. Finally, I would like to thank my family, my friends, my team, the fans and my Serbian team-mates for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength to me. Father Srdjan – who already in recent days had compared his son to Jesus – he used other tones instead in an Instagram post: The attempt to assassinate the best sportsman in the world ended, 50 bullets in Novak’s chest.
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The satisfaction of the Australian government
A decision made for health and safety reasons, in the public interest of Australians. So it was decided to keep our borders strong and protect the populationAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Joined him the Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke
: The Court’s decision confirms mine. Australia’s strong border protection policies kept us safe during the pandemic. Australians have made great sacrifices to get to this point and the government is firmly committed to protecting this position.
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The accusation of the Serbian president Vucic
For Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Novak Djokovic can return to his country with his head held high. Vucic said he spoke with the tennis player and told him that everyone is waiting for him in Serbia: Those who think they have affirmed principles have shown that they have no principles. They mistreated a tennis player for ten days and then made a decision they knew from day one. The Australian authorities are simply lying. They say that in Serbia less than 50% of people vaccinated when the percentage of 58%, more than many other European countries. a useless argument, but used in this Orwellian performance.
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The ATP: A defeat for tennis
The ATP spoke of a sentence that marks the end of a series of deeply deplorable events. The association of professional players in a statement acknowledges that the decisions of the judicial authorities in matters of public health must be respected and underlines how Djokovic’s absence from the Australian Open a defeat for the game. We know how turbulent the last few days have been for Novak and how much he wanted to defend his title in Melbourne. We wish him well and can’t wait to see him back on the pitch soon. The ATP continues to strongly recommend vaccination to all players.
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Unanimous ruling
The sentence arrived at 7.45 am Italian (5.45 pm in Australia) on Sunday 16 January from Australian Federal Court. In a unanimous decision, judges James Allsop, Anthony Besanko and David O’Callaghan dismissed Djokovic’s appeal. The reasons will be published later. Djokovic’s lawyers have not filed a new appeal and Nole will also have to pay court costs.
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What happens now
After the sentence, the tennis player returned to the Park Hotel, later went to the airport to take the flight of the Emirates for Dubai. Doubts remain about his possible future return to Australia. A sentence of this kind usually brings with it a three-year ban on entry to Australia (although there are exceptions): a huge obstacle to Djokovic’s dream of winning the Grand Slam, that is to win all 4 major world tennis trophies in one calendar year: Australia, Paris, New York and Wimbledon. Serbian – who had been featured on the tournament draw as number 1 seed – should have made his debut on Monday 17 at the Rod Laver Arena against compatriot Kecmanovic. In his place on the board enters a lucky loser: the Italian Salvatore Caruso, number 150 in the world
. The Italians therefore become 10 in the main draw, led by Matteo Berrettini.
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The decisive hearing in the night: Djokovic’s thesis
Djokovic, in the Australian morning – when it was still Saturday evening in Italy – had left the Park Hotel (the refugee facility where he was taken after the first visa revocation and where he returned on Saturday ) and reached the offices of his lawyers, who tried to reaffirm the position of the Serbian. Nick Wood, one of Djokovic’s lawyers, disputed – also supported by some articles published in the media (notably one of the Bbc of January 6) – that the minister did not seek Djokovic’s current views on vaccination, referring instead to the Serbian’s thought of April 2020, when there was still no vaccine against Covid. Wood then brought in support of the defense of the Serbian champion the little consideration of the consequences of the cancellation of the visa e the irrationality of the decision which could lead to a no vax reaction. The government does not know what Mr. Djokovic’s current views are, Wood insisted, specifying that Djokovic had never provided support to the no vaxes.
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The decisive hearing in the night: the thesis of the Australian government
In response to Nole’s lawyers, lawyer Stephen Lloyd, representing the Ministry of Immigration, replied, arguing that there would be nothing to suggest to Djokovic not to get vaccinated in the last year, keeping in mind however the positive Covid certified with a test carried out in Serbia on December 16. The immigration minister has the right to assume that not getting vaccinated was his choice, and there was never enough material or any claim that the applicant had other medical reasons for not being vaccinated, Lloyd explained. When the minister made his decision it was unequivocally known what the vaccination status was and his choice not to get vaccinated. Lloyd then added that the perception that Djokovic could oppose the vaccination was enough to incite other no vaxes in the country, saying that the Serbian’s apparent contempt for anti Covid rules it would have already brought with it the risk that others might emulate his actions and ignore Australian public health laws.
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Departure for Australia
Here is the reconstruction of what happened in the last 13 days. On January 4, the tennis player announces to his 10 million followers on Instagram that he is leaving for Australia: he has a medical exemption for the vaccine which should guarantee him entry into the country despite the strict local regulations to deal with the pandemic.
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The revoked visa and the inconsistencies
Djokovic arrives at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport in the middle of the night and
is locked in a room, subjected to an interrogation of over seven hours at the end of which the revocation of the entry visa is triggered. The sample admits that he has never been vaccinated against Covid and reveals he tested positive for the virus on December 16. But, as can be verified on the Internet and on social networks, in the days following the positivity the sample has participated in public events, released an interview
all team
and had himself photographed (without mask) in the presence of other people
. In addition, there are errors in completing the entry form, in which he declares that he did not travel in the 14 days prior to arrival in Australia and instead was in Spain. For Nole it would be a human and certainly not deliberate mistake made by his agent, Italian Edoardo Dodo Artaldi.
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The hotel for undocumented migrants
Djokovic is transferred in the Park Hotel detention center in custody, but his lawyers appeal and Judge Anthony Kelly’s first ruling in favor of the champion (for procedural error only
of the Immigration Department). Cos Novak runs to Melbourne Park on Monday evening to train, shares a photo with his racket in hand and coach Ivanisevic by his side. The odyssey for unfinished. And a few hours after the first AO match, starting on Monday, he arrives the new revocation of the visa decided by the Minister of Immigration and now definitively confirmed by the last sentence.
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January 16, 2022 (change January 16, 2022 | 13:09)
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