Djokovic’s lawyers cite Covid-19 infection in December to justify exemption

New scenario turnaround in the Djokovic-gate in Australia. Lawyers for the Serbian tennis player advance, in a document sent to court on Saturday, that their client benefited from a vaccine exemption due to a positive Covid-19 test in December.

“The date of the first positive Covid PCR test was recorded on December 16, 2021,” they said in a document filed with federal court, which seeks to overturn the rejection of his visa to enter Australia.

Djokovic wants to train

On the other hand, Djokovic’s lawyers have requested the transfer of the world number one from the Melbourne detention center to a place where he could train on the sidelines of the Australian Open. Djokovic was placed in the Park Hotel on his arrival in Australia “despite his transfer requests,” his lawyers wrote in a petition filed in federal court to reverse the cancellation of his visa.

Tennis Australia’s rules of the game are not Australia’s

In a video which leaked Friday in the local press, the boss of the Australian Federation Craig Tiley, under the fire of the critics for his management of the file, defended the “incredible work” of his teams.

The Federation has been accused of misleading players about the Covid-19 vaccination obligations to enter the country. In a note to players published by several Australian media, the organization assured that a person who recently contracted Covid-19 could benefit from an exemption from the obligation to be fully vaccinated. Novak Djokovic has always refused to communicate on his vaccination status, while not concealing his hostility to vaccination.

The Australian government has assured to have warned Tennis Australia in November that this provision was only valid for Australian residents, not for foreign citizens wishing to enter the country. Therefore, this positive test from Novak Djokovic may not be enough.

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