Melbourne (AP) – The hours of waiting in Melbourne Airport ended with a bitter disappointment for Novak Djokovic. The 34-year-old Serb has to return home on Thursday.
“The visa for Novak Djokovic has been canceled,” confirmed Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt. This means that the world number one is not allowed to enter the country to hunt for records at the Australian Open.
Despite a previously issued – and highly controversial – medical exemption, the Australian border protection authorities have banned entry, reported the Australian news agency AAP. Djokovic did not provide any suitable evidence that the entry requirements were met, so “the visa was subsequently canceled,” said the border protection authority’s statement.
Interrogated by police officers
Djokovic had previously been interrogated for several hours by officers at Melbourne Airport for apparent discrepancies with his visa. According to the media, the documents submitted by Djokovic did not provide for medical exemptions for unvaccinated people. The authorities of the Australian state of Victoria were therefore turned on – and refused to support him. The Australian media speculated that Djokovic apparently cited the recovery from a previous corona infection and wanted to come to the country without the actually required vaccination.
Anyone entering Australia must ensure that they are entitled to do so and that they can prove it, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This requires proof of a double vaccination or a valid medical exemption. “If you don’t follow the rules, border guards will do their job – and they did their job.” The intervention of the Serbian embassy in Australia does not change that. “Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our limits,” wrote Morrison on Twitter. “Nobody stands above these rules.”
The entourage of the athlete reacted with incomprehension and frustration. His son was being held in a guarded room, father Srdjan Djokovic was quoted as saying in Serbian media. “Novak is currently in a room that no one can enter,” he complained before the official refusal of entry. “Two policemen are standing in front of the room.” According to media reports, the world-famous athlete was finally taken to a guarded quarantine hotel a good ten hours after landing at the airport, where he was to stay until his departure.
Exemption
On Tuesday, after weeks of silence, Djokovic announced that he would fly to Australia thanks to such a special permit. He has still not made his vaccination status public. But if he were vaccinated, he would not need a permit. In Australia, the impression of preferential treatment for the popular athlete had triggered anger and indignation – especially since even many Australians living abroad were not allowed to travel back to their homeland for a long time during the pandemic due to drastic infection protection rules.
Djokovic has already won the Australian Open nine times and was determined to compete this time as the defending champion. If he had won, he would have left his competitors Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal behind with Grand Slam triumph number 21.
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