Jump to content

 

 

Recommended Posts

 

Australian Open 2022: Novak Djokovic’s visa is cancelled

updated

Bernard Lagan, Sydney | Stuart Fraser, Melbourne

Friday January 14 2022, 7.10am, The Times

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/australian-open-2022-novak-djokovic-makes-late-appeal-avoid-deportation-covid-s87dpwj26

 

Novak Djokovic has lost his battle to remain in Australia and defend his Australian Open title after the government said that it would cancel his visa for a second time over breaches of coronavirus rules.

The world No 1 tennis player now faces being deported and, potentially, a three-year ban on returning.

Alex Hawke, the immigration minister, said that he cancelled the visa on “health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so”.

 

The Serbian star’s legal team indicated that they intended to file an injunction against the minister’s decision in a bid to allow him to stay and play in the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.

If he doesn’t challenge the decision in the courts or is unsuccessful in doing so, he will be deported immediately.

Djokovic’s lawyers had spent the day preparing for a court battle to keep him in the tournament. He has been under threat of deportation since Monday, when Hawke said that he was considering using his powers to cancel his visa.

The star, 34, who is not vaccinated against Covid-19, was originally detained by border officials last week after arriving at a Melbourne airport and had his visa revoked after failing to claim a medical exemption.

After days spent in a hotel used as a detention centre for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers he was freed by a Melbourne judge who ruled that he had been treated unreasonably by Australia’s border authorities. They had refused to accept he had a lawful exemption from being vaccinated against Covid-19 but failed to allow him to seek legal advice.

The treatment of Serbia’s most famous sportsman caused uproar in his home country, while his family complained that Australia was treating him “like a criminal”.

It later emerged that Djokovic made a false travel declaration his arrival in Melbourne, which he blamed on his agent. He also admitted an “error of judgment” and confirmed that he broke Covid-19 isolation rules in Serbia last month by attending a photoshoot after testing positive.

In the eyes of many Australians, the 20-time grand slam winner had flouted the requirement that all arriving travellers must be vaccinated.

A poll published by News Corp Australia today showed that 84 per cent of the more than 61,000 respondents believed that the government should try to deport him.

Hawke had earlier delayed his decision on the star’s future, amid reports that the government received conflicting legal advice on the chances of successfully defending another legal challenge from Djokovic.

 

Any injunction filed by the player’s lawyers against his deportation could now be dragged into next week. That would leave open the possibility of his case being heard in the midst of the Australian Open.

Despite the controversy, the Serbian star was named in the official draw for the Australian Open tournament yesterday, as Hawke continued to review whether his visa should be cancelled over breaches of coronavirus rules.

The Labor opposition leader Anthony Albanese said that the length of time to make a decision reinforced the impression that the government had “acted too little and too late.”

Crowds at the Australian Open will be capped at 50 per cent after a surge in Covid cases. Victoria recorded 37,169 new cases and 25 deaths yesterday.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Uilleam said:

Victoria recorded 37,169 new cases and 25 deaths yesterday.

25 ÷ 37,169 = 0.0007

 

I wonder if Djokovic will get vaccinated before the next major event?  If he does, I doubt it'll be for health reasons.

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

25 ÷ 37,169 = 0.0007

 

I wonder if Djokovic will get vaccinated before the next major event?  If he does, I doubt it'll be for health reasons.

Australia is rife with COVID! Djokovic doesn't have COVID! hasn't been vaccinated! is perfectly fit and healthy! what harm can he do to Australians? it's him that is at risk! 😁

Link to post
Share on other sites

In a poll yesterday, 83% of Australians questioned wanted Djokovic deported. No govt with an election round the corner is ever going to ignore those sort of numbers. Besides, very few of those taking Djokovic's side will actually lose any sleep if he's thrown out. It's right he should be free to refuse vaccination but, like everything else in life, freedom to choose often brings unwelcome consequences.

Edited by Bill
Link to post
Share on other sites

As soon as the information came out about errors on forms and date discrepancies, this was inevitable.

 

At least Aussies can now breathe a sigh of relief - the thought of an unvaccinated person walking among them must've been terrifying.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.