Mcenroe calls for probe into Djokovic test
Hfresh doubts over timing of Serb’s positive Covid result hamerican wants authorities to get to bottom of controversy
John Mcenroe last night called for an investigation into the positive coronavirus test at the centre of the Novak Djokovic deportation furore after further doubts emerged about the timing of it. Research conducted earlier this month by a German group called Zerforschung, which partnered with Der Spiegel, flagged up a discrepancy between the dates and serial numbers on paperwork submitted by Djokovic’s lawyers during his failed legal battle to avoid being thrown out of Australia.
The BBC said yesterday it had obtained evidence that appeared to show the serial number on the document stating Djokovic tested positive on Dec 16 was out of sequence with a sample of tests from Serbia over the same period. It also found that serial number fell between those obtained from tests carried out between Dec 25 and 28.
The German investigation earlier identified a further discrepancy with the official online record of Djokovic’s test, a timestamp for which indicated the corresponding web page may not have been created until Dec 26.
Djokovic, who has admitted breaking quarantine rules by carrying out an interview with a journalist on Dec 18, had left Serbia for Spain shortly after Christmas before flying to Australia for the gand slam via Dubai.
Representatives of Djokovic and the Institute of Public Health of Serbia have failed to respond to repeated requests for comment.
Asked whether the tennis authorities needed to get to the bottom of the matter, Mcenroe said: “In short, yes. I’d like to know. I’ll give you an example of something I don’t understand. Novak Djokovic, to me, is an extremely smart person. If he tested positive on – what date is it? – Dec 15th – I’m throwing in a date – why in the hell would he do an interview with a journalist on Dec 16th? That makes absolutely no sense to me. The guy’s not stupid. He’s smart. So, already, I’m like, ‘What?’
“I mean, he wasn’t just sitting around going, ‘I hope I get Covid so I can get an exemption’.”
Mcenroe, a pundit for Eurosport at the Australian Open, warned that the Serbian authorities would not investigate the matter themselves amid anger in Djokovic’s homeland over his deportation.
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