Melbourne (dpa) – Novak Djokovic denied intentional false information and the endangerment of other people in the Corona crime thriller about his entry to Australia.
However, the tennis star admitted errors in dealing with his positive test result. According to a media report, a decision on whether the world number one will be allowed to stay in Australia after the turbulence that has been noticed around the world will not be made until Thursday.
The 34-year-old Serb defended himself on Wednesday in a first detailed statement via Instagram against two allegations in particular: Neither did he intentionally provide false information about his travel behavior in the 14 days before the flight to the host country of the coming week’s Australian Open, nor Knowing his positive corona test, he attended an event with children in December and moved there without a mask.
According to a report by the Australian news agency AAP, new information from Djokovic’s lawyers had postponed the time frame, said the office of Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. Other documents had been submitted that could prove relevant to a possible cancellation of Djokovic’s visa. “That will of course affect the time frame for a decision,” it said.
Djokovic: “misinformation”
Djokovic previously described “misinformation” that needs to be corrected as “hurtful and worrying to my family”. He wants to point out that he has tried very hard for the safety of others and compliance with test specifications. It was important to him to clarify all of this, but he would not comment on the incidents out of respect for the Australian government.
However, the Serb also admitted that he already knew about his positive test result in an interview with the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on December 18 and that he had not canceled the appointment. He just kept his distance and only removed his mask for the photographer. “Although I went home after the interview and went into isolation for the prescribed length of time, after thinking more carefully, that was a misjudgment and I understand that I should have postponed this commitment,” he wrote.
Djokovic was refused entry to Australia at Melbourne Airport last week because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus and the documentation of his medical exemption was insufficient for the authorities. Because the border officials had not given him the agreed time to clarify, the decision was overturned in court on Monday. The Australian immigration minister has since reserved the right to make use of his personal rights and still invalidate Djokovic’s visa.
Djokovic’s lawyers provided more information and documents on the matter, said the professional tennis player and a spokesman for Minister Hawke. The fact that it was incorrectly stated in his entry form that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia was described by Djokovic as a “human error” by his agent, “which was certainly not intentional”.
Without mask at children’s event
At the event with children, at which he appeared without a mask on December 17th, according to previous information in the court documents, one day after “test and diagnosis”, he had not yet known about the positive result. On December 16, he had a negative antigen test and, out of sheer caution, also a PCR test. “I had no symptoms and felt fine and I received the news of the positive PCR test only after the event,” wrote Djokovic.
However, there have been reports of possible new inconsistencies with this test. “Der Spiegel” writes that the PCR test submitted by Djokovic’s lawyers in a Serbian database was dated to a later date and not from December 16.
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