Novak faces threat of deportation

World No 1 is locked in immigration detention after his visa was cancelled for failure to comply with Oz entry requirement

MUMBAI: Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open title defence began with an upbeat social media post confirming his participation on Tuesday and an accompanying smiling picture with his bags. A 14-four flight from Dubai to Melbourne ensued. What followed was an equally long and dramatic night at the Melbourne airport that ended on Thursday morning with the world’s top male tennis player locked in immigration detention with the possibility of deportation from the country.

The Serb was refused entry into Australia to play the season-opening Grand Slam after his visa was cancelled for failing to “comply with our laws and entry requirements”, the Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a statement. After almost 10 hours of questioning, Djokovic was shifted to The Park Hotel in Carlton, where he will be in immigration detention. The world No. 1 will remain there at least for four more days, after his legal team’s bid to challenge the revocation in the Federal Circuit Court secured an interim injunction until Monday, whe n t h e n e x t h e a r i n g is scheduled.

The standpoint stemmed from the medical exemption that Djokovic — who has publicly spoken about his stand against vaccines in the past — received from Tennis Australia and the state of Victoria under two independent medical panels in order to participate in the Grand Slam beginning January 17. Any person entering Australia is required to be fully vaccinated or present satisfactory proof to complement the exemption in order to avoid a 14-day quarantine period upon arrival. Djokovic had neither.

“The ABF can confirm that Mr Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia,” the ABF statement read.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who tweeted “no one is above the rules” while announcing Djokovic’s visa cancellation, reiterated the reasoning behind the nine-time Australian Open champion’s treatment. “All I can say is that the evidence [for] medical exemption that was provided was found to be insufficient,” Morrison told reporters.

The grounds for granting medical exemption, in compliance with the Australian Technical Advisory Group of Immunisation (ATAGI) are limited. It includes an acute medical condition and serious adverse effects previously caused by the Covid vaccine. Those who have recently contracted the virus can also get a temporary exemption.

Other exemptions also under scanner

Djokovic was not the only one who had applied for an exemption though. There were 26 other applications in all filed by players and support staff. Though all information about these applications are strictly confidential, Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer confirmed that some of these applications were s u c c e s s f u l , mos t l y because they came from people who had already had a Covid-19 infection in the last six months.

Here lies the catch, however. Australia’s federal health authorities had twice written to Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley in November that unvaccinated people who had contracted Covid in the last six months would not be considered for exemption upon their arrival in Australia. “I can confirm that people who contracted Covid-19 within six months and seek to enter Australia from overseas, and have not received two doses of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (Tga)-approved or Tga-recognised vaccine... are not considered fully vaccinated,” Health Minister Greg Hunt wrote to Tiley in a letter dated November 29.

It is learnt that the “handful” of players and support staff from the 26 applicants who were also granted exemption and are already in Australia will also now be investigated further. However, according to a report in The Age quoting sources, Djokovic’s paperwork to support his exemption was “minimal” and “far less substantive than that of the other player and official who entered the country with the same vaccine exemption”.

Usually, visas of the players scheduled to play in the tournament are approved through an automated process in November. Morrison added that other specific requirements, if any, to enter the country is separate and the sole responsibility of the individual. The Prime Minister also added that Djokovic announcing his exemption approval on social media — no other player or support staff did that — and his previous comments on vaccine hesitancy did not help his cause. “When you get people making public statements—of what they say they have, and what they are going to do, and what their claims are—well they draw significant attention to themselves. Whoever does that, well they can expect to be asked questions more than others. That’s how Border Force works. They’re not singled out at all,” Morrison said.

Backlash

The perception that Djokovic was singled out for special treatment appeared to have angered the Australian public, which has had to endure months of one of the harshest and lengthiest lockdowns in the world in its fight against the pandemic. The issue has also touched political undercurrents, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic slamming Australia’s “maltreatment” of the top-ranked pro, saying Djokovic was a victim of “harassment”. Djokovic’s father Srdjan Djokovic, who had threatened to hit the streets during Djokovic’s questioning, told Serbian media outlet Sputnik that “this is a fight for a libertarian world “.

Djokovic’s fellow players have so far stayed away from showing any sympathy for the Serb. Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard locked with Djokovic at 20 Grand Slam titles, said he felt sorry for Djokovic but added that he was well aware of the consequences if he did not vaccinate.

“I don’t encourage nobody,” Nadal told reporters. “Everyone has to do what they feel is good for them but there are rules and without the vaccine there can be some troubles. He’s free to take his own position, but then there are consequences.”

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