Novak Djokovic: Australia cancels tennis player's visa and announces that it will deport him amid his controversial unvaccinated participation in the Open.
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| Open Tennis |
The lawyers of the world's number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, managed to stop this Thursday the deportation process initiated by the Australian authorities for having failed to comply with the entry requirements into the country.
The player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, where he was detained at the airport for not filling in the correct form for the requested visa.
"Mr Djokovic did not provide adequate evidence to meet Australia entry requirements and his visa was canceled," the Australian Border Force said in a statement.
"The Australian Border Force will continue to ensure that all those arriving at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements," he added.
Djokovic wants to play in the Australian Open, which kicks off this month in Melbourne, after being waived from vaccination rules.
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The government said that the Serbian tennis player would be flown out of the country on Thursday, but his lawyers filed a challenge on Wednesday with which they managed to stop the process until a court hearing is held next Monday.
The government said that the Serbian tennis player would be flown out of the country on Thursday, but his lawyers filed a challenge on Wednesday with which they managed to stop the process until a court hearing is held next Monday.
This Thursday, after a quick preliminary hearing, Judge Anthony Kelly, from a Melbourne court, ordered both parties to deliver their arguments over the weekend and that they will be analyzed on Monday from 10 in the morning. ABC.
Djokovic is being held at the Park Hotel in the Carlton neighborhood, where he was transferred around 10 a.m. (Australian time), after spending the night in one of the lounges at Tullamarine airport. And he must remain there, without him being able to leave the building, until the hearing is held.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday accused Australian authorities of "mistreating" the tennis player.
"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," the president wrote on Facebook.
Many Australians were angered by the news that Djokovic could play the Australian Open after receiving an exemption from the Covid-19 vaccination rules.
All tournament players and staff must be vaccinated or receive a waiver from an independent panel of experts.
Organizers maintain that the current champion of the competition did not receive special treatment.
But Australians, some of whom are still unable to travel between states or internationally, criticized authorities, politicians and Djokovic himself.
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| Tennis tv |
Craig Tiley, director of the Australian Open - the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season - said 26 athletes applied for a medical exemption and that a "handful" of them were granted under guidelines set by federal regulators.
"We made it extremely difficult for applicants to ensure the process was correct and to ensure that medical experts dealt with it independently," Tiley told Australia's Channel 9 on Wednesday.
The national government had warned that the tennis player would have to prove upon entering the country that he cannot be vaccinated.
"While the (regional) government of Victoria and Tennis Australia may allow an unvaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it is the Australian government that will enforce our requirements at the Australian border," the minister said in a statement. Australian Outback Karen Andrews.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had been even more blunt: if the tennis player did not provide enough evidence, he would be put "on the next plane home."
"Australians from different states and territories have had to show their vaccination record. It is not unreasonable to have exactly the same requirement for everyone entering the country," added the country's Health Minister Greg Hunt.
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