Djokovic’s appeal rejected in court and will be deported from Australia

The Court of Australia rejected in the early hours of Sunday (16) (afternoon in Australia) an appeal by Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, 34, to remain in the country even without being vaccinated against Covid-19.

The athlete was trying to reverse the second cancellation of his visa in order to play the Australian Open. His debut was even scheduled for next Monday (17), but with the defeat, the athlete will have to leave the country and will not be able to compete in the Grand Slam.

Court president James Allsop said the Federal Court’s decision was based on the legality and legality of the minister’s decision in the context of the three grounds of appeal presented by Djokovic’s team.

“It is not the role of the court to decide on the merits or wisdom of the decision,” Allsop said, adding that the decision was unanimous among the three judges. The full reasoning behind the decision will be released in the coming days, he said.

Last Monday (10), Djokovic’s lawyers had obtained his release from the first cancellation, which allowed the tennis player to train in recent days, but a decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke returned the Serb to square one and his appeal. in Federal Court was denied.

The hearing began at 7:30 pm on Saturday (Brasilia time; Sunday morning in Australia) and lasted until around 4:30 pm on Sunday, Australian time.

Federal judge Anthony Kelly, responsible for releasing Djokovic earlier in the week, had ordered border authorities not to remove the athlete from Australian territory while his legal challenge was ongoing. With that, after having carried out some training in preparation for the Grand Slam during the week, the Serb was taken back to the detention hotel.

Novak Djokovic traveled to Australia without being vaccinated against Covid-19, a requirement to enter the country, after receiving a waiver of proof of immunization granted by the organization of the Australian Open and the state government of Victoria. The exemption was given because he presented a positive test for the coronavirus carried out on December 16, in Serbia.

This authorization, however, is contested by the federal government, which does not consider recent Covid-19 infection as a valid criterion for waiving vaccination as an entry requirement. For this reason, on the 6th, when the tennis player disembarked at Melbourne airport, his visa was canceled and detention in an immigration hotel.

On Monday (10), Federal Judge Anthony Kelly decided to release the tennis player after considering that immigration agents had failed in the procedures with the athlete. He would not have been given enough time to contact lawyers and tournament organizers to try to clarify the situation. The merits of the vaccine exemption were not judged.

Since then, Djokovic has been able to move freely and train at Melbourne Park, the venue for the Australian Open, awaiting a decision from Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.

In addition to the issue of vaccination, other points hampered the Serbian’s intentions to stay in the country and play in the tournament.

The Australian Border Force investigates discrepancies between the traveler form he submitted and his whereabouts in the days prior to arrival.

In the document, the tennis player marked “no” when asked about having traveled in the previous 14 days, but at the end of the year he left Belgrade, Serbia, and went to Marbella, Spain, to finish his preparation. Djokovic said his agent made an “administrative error” in filling out the document.

The tennis player was also charged, including by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, for failing to comply with mandatory isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in December. He acknowledged having given an interview and participated in a photo shoot already with knowledge of the diagnosis.

A third complicating factor was raised by the German magazine Der Spiegel, which pointed out inconsistencies in the date of the PCR performed in Serbia from the information available in the URL associated with the QR code of the exam. According to the publication, these data suggest that the exam would have been done on the 26th, not the 16th.

The world’s number one tennis player, Djokovic is the reigning Australian Open champion and is aiming for his 21st Grand Slam title to isolate himself as the biggest winner — he is currently tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Only the Spaniard will compete in the tournament in Australia.

Another tennis player who intended to compete in the competition, the Czech Renata Voracova was also barred from trying to enter Australia and had her visa cancelled. Like Djokovic, she did not provide proof of vaccination.