Novak Djokovic appealed his deportation from Australia and spent the night locked up in a hotel: when is his situation defined?

The defending Australian Open champion remained locked in a Melbourne hotel room set up as an immigration detention center at the Park Hotel in the Carlton neighborhood. Djokovic, who may be expelled from Australia in the next few hours, filed an appeal with the Federal Circuit Court to be able to stay and thus play, from January 17, the Open which is held in that country every January and where both he and the Spanish Rafael Nadal aspire to win the 21st Grand Slam title. The only photo of Djokovic in Australia appears in the following tweet:

This is Djokovic at Melbourne Airport last night. I have spoken to the man who took this photo. He says Novak showed a bundle of papers to Border Force with Tennis Australia logos on it. It feels to me Djokovic legitimately felt like he had an exemption thanks to TA. @2GB873 pic.twitter.com/uOtSYyBOR7 — Chris O’Keefe (@cokeefe9) January 6, 2022

Judicial instances

According to local newspaper The Age, the 34-year-old Serbian star’s lawyers appeared at an online hearing after Djokovic’s visa was canceled upon arrival in Australia. With this presentation, the lawyers obtained a precautionary measure that prevents the Australian authorities from deporting the tennis player until the next hearing. The federal circuit judge, Anthony Kelly, said that there was a delay in receiving the request to review the decisions on the visa and the temporary veto of Djokovic’s deportation . A local government lawyer agreed that the tennis ace should not be expelled until Friday at the earliest. Djokovic’s trip was shrouded in controversy long before he landed on Australian soil. The conservative-leaning federal government and the left-wing executive of the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is the venue for the tournament, appeared to have conflicting views on what constitutes acceptable medical grounds for an exemption to Australia’s foreign national vaccination policy. Djokovic had announced on social media on Tuesday that he had a “exemption permit.” The world tennis number one landed in Melbourne on Wednesday with a medical exemption issued by the regional government. That safe-conduct apparently freed him from the strict vaccination requirements that were implemented for athletes, staff and fans who attend the Australian Open, the first major of the anus. Although it seemed to be able to access the tournament, it was not like that for entering the country.

Serbia accused Australia of “mistreatment” and the tennis player’s father threatened protests

The Australian border authorities canceled the entry visa to the country of Novak Djokovic, hours after the world number 1 was detained upon arrival in Melbourne, a fact that was considered as “mistreatment” by the Serbian president. If finally deported, the Serbian tennis player would be left without the possibility of playing, as of January 17, the Australian Open, where he was looking for his 10th title and beat the Grand Slam record that he now shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ( all three with 20). The Serb, who in the past was reluctant to get vaccinated against covid-19 and has repeatedly refused to confirm whether he was inoculated, had obtained a “medical derogation” in order to participate in the first Grand Slam of the season, a tournament he has won nine times. This caused the rejection of the press, the population and even the Australian political class, who accused those responsible of treating the Serb favorably. According to the Australian press, the nine-time Australian Open champion, who took the plane to Melbourne on Tuesday, may not have filled out the correct form for the type of visa requested. “Mr. Djokovic failed to provide adequate evidence to meet Australian entry requirements and his visa was cancelled,” the Australian Border Force announced in a statement.

Without showing the reason for the derogation

“ Non-citizens who do not have a valid entry visa or whose visa has been canceled will be detained and expelled from Australia,” the border authorities added. “The Australian Border Force will continue to ensure that all those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements,” they insisted in the statement. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had already warned before the Serb’s arrival in Melbourne that if the reasons for Djokovic’s exemption were “insufficient”, the Serb would be “on the next plane back” to his home. All participants in the Australian Open, which starts on January 17, must be vaccinated against covid-19 or have an exemption granted by two independent expert committees. Speaking to Australia’s Channel Nine, tournament boss Craig Tiley said 26 people out of nearly 3,000 players and coaches traveling to Australia for the competition had asked for a waiver, but only a handful got it. “Anyone who qualified has been allowed to come. There were no special favors. There is no special opportunity for Novak,” Tiley said. Tiley also urged the tennis player to reveal the reason for his medical leave. “It would be really helpful if Novak explains the conditions for which he has applied for and obtained a medical exemption,” he said. One of the conditions that allowed entry without a vaccine is that the applicant had had covid-19 in the last six months. It is not clear that this is the case for Djokovic.

Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, condemned the attitude of the Australian authorities.

Diplomatic conflict

Shortly before the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa became known, the Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic accused the Australian authorities of “mistreatment” of the number one world tennis. In a message on Instagram, Vucic assured that “all of Serbia is with him and our authorities are studying all measures so that this mistreatment of the best tennis player in the world ends as soon as possible.” Earlier, the tennis player’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, assured that his son “has been held captive for five hours” in Melbourne and that he had “no idea what is happening”, in statements to the Sputnik Serbia channel. “This is a fight for freedom in the world, it’s not just a fight for Novak, but a fight for the whole world,” added the father, who even threatened with protests in the streets if their son was not released “within half an hour”. Later, when the cancellation of the visa was known, Srdjan Djokovic wrote a message on Instagram: Deportation! Our pride, our Novak is coming back… we should all give him the welcome he deserves!”.

“Terrible message”

But the decision to authorize Djokovic’s entry had sparked outrage in Australia, whose residents have been subjected to major restrictions, lockdowns and border closures for much of the last two years. It also generated surprise in some tennis players, such as the British doubles player Jamie Murray, who is playing the ATP Cup in Sydney. “ I think that if I were the one who is not vaccinated, I would not receive the exemption ,” he claimed. Doctor Stephen Parnis, a former vice president of the Australian Medical Association, said the decision sends a negative message to people fighting the spread of Covid-19. “I don’t care how good a tennis player he is. If he refuses to get vaccinated, he shouldn’t be allowed in,” Parnis said on Twitter. Djokovic expressed his opposition to the coronavirus vaccine in April 2020, when it was raised that it might be mandatory to resume tournaments. “Personally I am not pro-vaccine,” Djokovic declared then. “I would not want someone to force me to be vaccinated in order to travel”.
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