Melbourne (dpa) – Despite his half-hearted apologies, Novak Djokovic continues to face difficulties in the corona crime thriller about entering Australia.
A report of possible inconsistencies in the dating of his positive corona test caused a new stir on Wednesday. In addition, the tennis world number one from Serbia admitted a “misjudgment” that he appeared for an interview including a photo shoot despite his Covid-19 findings.
However, Djokovic described the false information on his entry form as a “human error” of his agent, “which was certainly not intentional”. The mother of the 34-year-old top athlete turned to the Australian government in pathetic words.
Decision not before Thursday
What really happened in the past few days and weeks is still unclear. And so it was also open on the second day after the much-noticed judge’s ruling in Melbourne and the seventh day after the initially refused entry whether Djokovic, who had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, could stay in the country and compete at the Australian Open to defend his title or had to leave the country. According to a media report, a decision should not be made before Thursday. Australian Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke could still raise or lower his thumb.
The organizers of the first Grand Slam tournament of the new season invited to the draw for Thursday in the midst of all the trials and tribulations (with Djokovic as number one on the seeding list) and pointed to a public training session for the nine-time Melbourne winner and 20-time Grand- Slam champions out at 2:15 p.m. local time. For the first time since he landed, he spoke up in a lengthy statement on Instagram and defended himself against two allegations in particular: he had not intentionally made a false statement about his travel behavior in the 14 days before the flight to Melbourne, nor was he in the know of his positive corona test attended an event with children in December and moved there without a mask.
Djokovic described the “misinformation” that needed 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.
“A misjudgment”
The fact that he already knew of his positive test result in an interview with the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on December 18, 2021 and still did not cancel the appointment, he commented: “Although I am home after the interview and I am for the prescribed one Having been in isolation for a long time, after a closer look, it was a misjudgment and I understand that I should have postponed this obligation. “
But there is even debate about the data. “Der Spiegel” writes that the positive corona test that Djokovic presented when he entered the country and that was the reason for the exemption, could possibly have been carried out on another day. According to this, the PCR test presented by Djokovic’s lawyers in a Serbian database should be dated to a later date and not from December 16 – as claimed by Djokovic.
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. However, because the border officials did not give him the agreed time to clarify, the decision in court was overturned on Monday.
Since then, Minister Hawke has reserved the right to exercise his personal rights and to invalidate Djokovic’s visa. According to a report by the Australian news agency AAP, new information from Djokovic’s lawyers had postponed the time frame for this decision, the politician’s office said. Other submitted documents could prove relevant, it said.
Incorrect entry form
Djokovic attributed to his agent that his entry form incorrectly stated that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia. 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.
If Novak Djokovic had been vaccinated against Corona, he would have spared himself and everyone involved the procedure and debates. As a vaccinated person, he would have been allowed to enter the country and would not have needed a special permit to participate in the Australian Open. As it was, Djokovic’s mother Dijana spoke again. “Don’t throw him out. He’s not a politician, he’s a tennis player. He’s not a criminal, he’s not a murderer,” she told Channel 7.
She can hardly sleep. “If he’s healthy and his PCR test is negative, why can’t he play?” She asked. “We all pray that he can stay.” The fact that her son was not vaccinated against Corona is his “own philosophy of life”. Everyone in the world has the opportunity to make this choice, “it is a human right”.
.
ttn-10