A soap novel that we thought was endless… and yet. Nearly two weeks after the start of the controversy surrounding the arrival of Novak Djokovic on Australian soil and the cancellation of his visa by local customs, the judge ruled on Sunday morning: the Serb is expelled and he will therefore not be able to take going to the Australian Open.
Posted at 7:07
Djokovic left Melbourne hours later on a flight to Dubai.
It was during the second trial in a week of the best player in the world that the court finally made the decision to expel him.
Ex officio, the assigned judge explained that the case was important and that it concerned the “conservation of the life and health of the community. »
During the trial, which lasted long hours, lawyers for the Djokovic clan pleaded that since the start of the controversy, there had been no outbursts or unmanageable anti-vax demonstrations. They also supported their speech on the fact that the supporters of the Joker were moderate and that the government, as well as the organizers of the tournament, should not fear for the public order. The presence of the champion has never caused any problems in other tournaments he has participated in before, his clan argued. Djoko’s main lawyer also explained that if his client were expelled, it would further anger people opposed to the vaccine and that peace could be threatened. So keeping Djokovic in Australia would maintain order.
However, many videos and many testimonies have circulated on the fact that supporters of anti-vax groups have organized fairly demanding demonstrations over the weekend, thus undermining the words of Djokovic’s lawyer.
The lawyer for the Australian government, Stephen Lloyd, explained the situation well, as well as the context, and bet particularly on what, ultimately, poses a problem: the fact that Novak Djokovic is not vaccinated. Mr. Lloyd recalled and highlighted comments that Djokovic made, in particular in various media, which opposed the vaccine and the pandemic, even before a first vaccine had been developed and marketed.
Many feared that excesses and clashes would take place if the Serb had remained in Australia. According to a survey by the Australian media The Age appeared on Saturday, 71% of Australians did not want the athlete to stay in Australia, considering his status. And 14% answered that he should play and 15% refrained from answering the question.
Recall of facts
Since the start of the pandemic, Novak Djokovic has always refused to confirm or deny the fact that he was vaccinated. Several months ago, when the organizers of the Australian Open said that all players would have to be vaccinated to play, everyone thought that the Serb would ultimately have no choice but to receive his doses. On the other hand, at the beginning of January, Djokovic received a medical waiver from the tournament to be able to participate in the tournament without being vaccinated. It was enough to raise a huge outcry in Australia and on the tennis planet.
Thus, more than a week ago, the man who won 20 grand slam titles landed at Melbourne airport, but customs refused to let him through. She canceled her visa, because according to Australian law, all visitors must be vaccinated. Which is not the case with Djoko.
Djokovic’s clan therefore appealed and the 34-year-old athlete was placed in solitary confinement in a hotel in Melbourne, while his case goes before the Australian court. On Monday, Judge Anthony Kelly ruled that the Serb had the right to play in the Australian Open, under certain conditions.
Djoko was therefore able to train, like the other players, until things got tough on Wednesday evening, during the draw and the unveiling of the main draw. The live broadcast had started well, the organizers had placed chairs and tables to accommodate the tournament officials, but the broadcast suddenly ended. Without explanation. It only took a few seconds on Twitter for various journalists assigned to cover the tournament to announce that the session was going to be postponed for a few minutes. Eventually, government officials made it public that the Prime Minister was going to hold an impending press conference for an announcement related to the tournament, but to no avail. It was just a vulgar and banal update on the state of affairs and the progression of the pandemic in Australia. The draw therefore took place a few hours later and Novak Djokovic was at the top of the table, as the first seed.
Djokovic could have decided himself to withdraw from the tournament before the unveiling of the main draw. Something he didn’t do. There were warning signs earlier in the day, however, that Djoko was ultimately not going to be able to take part in the tournament. His training, which was supposed to last two hours, was stopped unexpectedly after only 30 minutes. We still don’t know why it happened that way. Certainly Novak was free at the time.
However, as we are not ready for a plot twist in this story, Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke canceled Djokovic’s visa again on Friday, a decision he made in the “public interest”.