Djokovic denied entry to Australia and expected to be deported

After spending more than eight hours at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, Australia, where he landed this Wednesday (5) around 11:30 pm local time (9:30 am GMT), Novak Djokovic was denied entry into the country and was warned. who will be deported.

The tennis player has applied for an injunction to prevent his deportation, a source told Reuters. The athlete does not reveal whether or not he was vaccinated against Covid-19, a requirement to enter the country.

Shortly before the confirmation that the Serb could not enter the country, his father, Srdjan, accused the Australian authorities of keeping the Serb in prison, without contact with his staff and access to his cell phone.

“I have no idea what is happening, they are holding my son captive for five hours,” said Srdjan, who also threatened to take to the streets to protest. “If they don’t release him in half an hour, we’ll meet on the street, this fight is for everyone,” he said. So far, however, there are no records of protests at the site.

Djokovic’s father told Serbian media that the athlete waits alone in a room at Tullamarine airport under armed guard for a final decision on the case. “In front of the room are two police officers,” he told B92.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the country had offered support to the tennis player. “I told our Novak that all of Serbia is with him and that we are doing everything we can to stop the harassment of the best tennis player in the world immediately,” he said in a statement.

In the midst of a turmoil generated by the medical exemption that the Serbian tennis player received to compete in the Grand Slam tournament without being vaccinated against Covid-19, a new problem emerged.

According to Australian media, a member of Djokovic’s team has applied for a type of visa for entry into the country that does not apply to those who received the vaccine waiver.

After finding the error, the federal border department contacted the state government of Victoria, partner in organizing the tournament, to try to solve the problem while the athlete was flying, but the attempt to contact did not receive a positive response.

“The federal government has asked if we will support Novak Djokovic’s visa application to enter Australia. We will not provide Novak Djokovic with individual support in applying for a visa to participate in the Grand Slam Australian Open 2022,” Victoria Government Minister Jaala wrote on Twitter Pulford.

“We have always been clear on two points: visa approval is a matter for the federal government and medical exemptions are a matter for doctors,” he added.

The two independent medical panels that approved the vaccine waiver for Novak Djokovic are attended by the government of Victoria and Tennis Australia, the country’s sports authority and organizer of the Grand Slam.

Earlier on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested that Djokovic’s participation was not yet closed and that he would have to satisfy the federal government with proof of the reasons for the vaccine waiver.

“If this evidence is insufficient, he will not be treated any differently than anyone else and will be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic. Absolutely none,” Morrison told a news conference.

Tennis Australia organizers have stipulated that everyone in the Melbourne Park complex must be vaccinated or exempt to circulate freely in the tournament.

“Novak will not play the Australian Open with exemption because he is the biggest star,” said Pulford earlier. “He’s coming because he’s been able to demonstrate, through this process, that he’s eligible under the rules that apply to everyone else in the country.”

According to the organizers, the tournament received 26 requests for vaccine dispensing among about 3,000 participants and some were approved, but the exact number has not been revealed. Most would have been obtained due to coronavirus contamination in the last six months, motivated by the Australian press as the most likely justification for exemption from the number 1 in the world.