Unvaccinated tennis god Novak Djokovic was held for questioning for more than six hours at the Melbourne airport before his visa to enter the country ahead of the Australian Open was finally canceled. Australian authorities said that he “failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements” and would be “detained and removed” from the country.
Djokovic was in a room guarded by “two police officers,” according to his father, who was ranting to local Serbian media while the border drama played out. (Australian officials denied the accompanying claim that Novak Djokovic wasn’t allowed to have his phone.)
“They are holding my son captive,” Srdjan Djokovic said. “If they don’t release him in the next half an hour, we will fight them on the street.” Hours later, Djokovic’s visa was canceled, almost certainly knocking him out of the tournament, which begins in two weeks. His quest for the all-time Grand Slam lead will likely have to wait until at least the French Open.
Australian authorities have told Djokovic he will be deported; the tennis player is filing an injunction to stay in the country, according to Reuters.
The heart of the issue is Djokovic’s apparent refusal to take a coronavirus vaccine. On Tuesday, the Australian Open announced that it had given the player a medical exemption, and Djokovic wrote on Instagram that he was headed to Australia to try for his fourth straight Open title.
As Djokovic embarked on the long flight to Australia, his free pass into the country became a political hot potato, with officials and regular Australians furious at his special treatment while the rest of the country has had some of the tightest pandemic restrictions on the planet. His airport limbo and potential participation in the Open led news cycles in at least two countries.
“I told our Novak that the whole of Serbia is with him and that our bodies are doing everything to see that the harassment of the world’s best tennis player is brought to an end immediately,” Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said that if Djokovic’s medical exemption didn’t stand up to scrutiny, “he’ll be on the next plane home.” After a lengthy stay in the Melbourne airport, it appears that is where Djokovic is headed.
In its statement, the Open said that Djokovic’s exemption was granted in part by a panel appointed by health officials in Victoria, where the tournament is held. As Djokovic was in the air, the federal government put out a statement that appeared to blame the Victorian locals for inviting him. “While the Victorian Government and Tennis Australia may permit a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open,” home affairs minister Karen Andrews wrote, “it is the Commonwealth Government that will enforce our requirements at the Australian border.”
The reason for the medical exemption has not been confirmed, but it is likely a recent COVID-19 infection. Organizers of the Open have already let in several players for the same reason, a source told The Age.
As Djokovic approached the Australian border, his status was batted back and forth like a ... ping-pong ball ... as the situation devolved into farce. The local Victorian sports minister said that national government asked her to support Djokovic’s visa application, which she said she would not do. “Visa approvals are a matter for the Federal Government,” Jaala Pulford wrote on Twitter, “and medical exemptions are a matter for doctors.”
The feds denied that account in a statement to Australian newspaper The Age. Australian Border Force “did not request Victorian government support (for) a visa,” the agency said. Under Australian law, the national Border Force could just let Djokovic in the country if it desired.
As this played out, a bureaucratic issue provided an apparent opening for neither local nor national authorities to take responsibility for Djokovic. The tennis player filed for the wrong type of visa, one that does not permit any exceptions to Australia’s vaccine requirement, according to local reports.
