Could Covid row cost Djokovic millions in sponsorship deals?
TENNIS ace Novak Djokovic’s reputation is “balancing on a knife edge” and could potentially cost him his big money sponsors, an expert has warned.
The unvaccinated Serbian superstar’s participation in next week’s Australian Open was thrown into doubt after his visa was torn up for a second time on Friday over inconsistencies between his sworn evidence on immigration documents and social media posts.
He flew into Melbourne on January 5, claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive
PCR test result on December 16, but his visa was disallowed.
His legal team overturned that decision, but it then emerged he had incorrectly claimed not to have travelled in the 14 days before his arrival in Melbourne, despite visiting Spain. He also admitted breaching Serbia’s isolation rules after testing positive by taking part in an interview with a French newspaper and attending an event with children.
Edward Coke, who has more than 25 years’ experience in crisis and reputation management, believes the sportsman’s “least worst option” is to own up to his mistakes and make a graceful exit from Australia.
Djokovic’s net worth is put at £160million and he is believed to earn far more from endorsements than he does from prize money.
Last year he joined forces with luxury watchmaker Hublot. He also promotes French clothing company Lacoste and he has a racquet sponsorship agreement with Head. There is a shoe deal with Asics, ties with carmaker Peugeot and more.
“Between the beginning of the week and now there have been growing inconsistencies in his story,” said Mr Coke, of Repute Associates.
“I think the story has now progressed from him being portrayed as a victim to one where there are serious questions about his judgment and the competency of his management and what happened when he tested positive.”
Mr Coke added: “If Djokovic does not bite the bullet and apologise it’s pretty clear his sponsorship deals will be affected.
“It’s very much on a knife edge. If he wins the right to stay on some technicality, that for many people will be like a red rag to a bull.”