Australia cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time on Friday saying the world tennis number one who has not been vaccinated for COVID-19 may pose a health risk, effectively ending his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday. It was not clear if he would be returned to detention.
“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.
Under the section of the Migration Act used to cancel the visa, Djokovic would not be able to secure a visa to Australia for three years, except in compelling circumstances that affect Australia’s interest.
The decision to again cancel his visa over COVID-19 entry regulations raises the prospect of a possible second court battle by the Serbian tennis star to be allowed to stay and play in the Open starting Monday.
A source close to Djokovic’s team confirmed that he is considering the decision and weighing his options.
The controversy has assumed an importance that goes beyond tennis: it has intensified a global debate over the rights of the unvaccinated and become a tricky political issue for Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he campaigns for an election that is due by May.
While Morrison’s government has won support at home for its tough stance on border security during the pandemic, it has not escaped criticism over the botched handling of Djokovic’s visa.
“Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected,” Morrison said in a statement.
“This is what the minister is doing in taking this action today. Our strong border protection policies have kept Australians safe,” he said. “Due to the expected ongoing legal proceedings, I will be not be providing any further comment.”
Djokovic, 34, the Australian Open defending champion, was included in the draw as top seed and was due to face fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening match next week.
A relaxed looking Djokovic practised his serves and returns with his entourage on an empty court at Melbourne Park earlier on Friday, occasionally resting in a chair to wipe sweat from his face.
Djokovic, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne with a medical exemption to requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19.
On arrival, Australian Border Force decided his exemption was invalid and put him in an immigration detention hotel alongside asylum-seekers for several days.
Hawke said he had carefully considered information from Djokovic and Australian authorities, adding the government was “firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Australia has endured some of the world’s longest lockdowns, has a 90% vaccination rate among adults, and has seen a runaway Omicron outbreak bring nearly a million cases in the last two weeks.
‘LIKE FOOLS’
Greek world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas, speaking before Hawke’s decision, said Djokovic was “playing by his own rules” and making vaccinated players “look like fools”.
“No-one really thought they could come to Australia unvaccinated and not having to follow the protocols,” Tsitsipas said in an interview with India’s WION news channel.
An online poll by the News Corp media group found that 83% favoured the government trying to deport the tennis star.
“Scott Morrison made the rational decision to send the wealthy tennis star home after calculating the enormous political cost of giving him special treatment,” wrote David Crowe, chief political correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers.
Opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese said: “It should never have come to this … how is it that that visa was granted in the first place if he wasn’t eligible because he wasn’t fully vaccinated.”
Anti-vaxxers have hailed him as a hero while Djokovic’s family and the Serbian government have portrayed him as a victim of persecution.
Djokovic’s cause was not helped by a wrong entry declaration, where a box was ticked stating he had not travelled abroad in the two weeks before leaving for Australia.
In fact, he had travelled between Spain and Serbia.
Djokovic blamed the error on his agent and acknowledged he also should not have done an interview and photoshoot for a French newspaper on Dec. 18 while infected with COVID-19.
Former senior immigration official Abul Rizvi told Reuters ahead of the decision that the Migration Act section was only acted on in “extreme circumstances”.
“I can’t remember an example of when a minister used this, it is rare … and would put a three-year ban on his re-entry to Australia.”
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Dec 16: Djokovic tested positive for coronavirus, according to his affidavit to the Australian federal court. His accompanying PCR result by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia shows he was tested at 1:05 p.m. and the result time as 8:19 p.m.
Dec 17: The tennis star said he attended a charity event in Belgrade and social media posts show him maskless handing out awards to children. He said in a statement on Wednesday he did not get his PCR result until after the event. He said a rapid antigen test he took beforehand was negative.
Dec 18: Djokovic broke Serbia’s isolation rules for a photoshoot and interview with L’Equipe newspaper. He said in his statement that he “felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down.”
Dec 22: He received a negative PCR result from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, according to court documents.
Dec 24-25: Djokovic was seen in Belgrade, according to two eyewitness accounts to Reuters. A video posted on social media on Christmas Day showed him playing street tennis in Belgrade.
Dec 30: Tennis Australia informed the world number one that he was granted a temporary medical exemption from the country’s vaccine requirements on the grounds of previous infection. In a letter dated Dec 30, Australian Open organizers said this was granted by a panel of medical experts and reviewed by the state government of Victoria, where the tournament is held.
Jan 1: Djokovic told his agent to fill out his travel declaration to enter Australia. The declaration stated that he had not traveled in the 14 days prior to his expected departure from Spain on Jan 4. The Department of Home Affairs advised the agent that Djokovic met the requirements for quarantine-free arrival in Australia. The player later admitted the immigration form had contained an error in not saying he had traveled between Serbia and Spain in the 14 days before he departed.
Jan 2: Djokovic was issued with a border travel permit by the Victorian government. He was seen greeting a fan on video in Marbella, Spain.
Jan 4: “I’m heading Down Under with an exemption,” Djokovic announced to the world in an Instagram post shortly before flying from Spain via Dubai to Melbourne. The impending arrival of the vaccine sceptic prompted a huge backlash in Australia, which has undergone some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 lockdowns and where hospitalisation rates have hit a record high.
Jan 5: Djokovic touched down at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport at 11:30 p.m.
Jan 6: Australia’s Border Force detained the tennis star in a room at the airport overnight, denying him permission to enter the country and notifying him of their intention to remove him. The Serbian president objected to Canberra.
Jan 7: Djokovic faced 72 hours over the Orthodox Christmas holed up in a hotel for asylum seekers after a court agreed to hear his appeal against his canceled visa.
Jan 10: In a virtual court hearing that saw pranksters hijack the live stream and protesters pepper-sprayed outside his lawyers office, Djokovic was freed from detention. A judge quashed the government’s decision to cancel his visa on the grounds it was unreasonable. Australian immigration minister Alexander Hawke said he would weigh the use of personal powers to deport him anyway. Just after midnight, Djokovic tweeted a photo of himself practicing at Rod Laver arena.
Jan 11: Social media posts and eyewitness accounts to Reuters contradicted Djokovic’s immigration form declaration that he did not travel for 14 days before entering the country.
Jan 12: Djokovic posted a statement on Instagram apologising for the mistake on the form and for leaving quarantine to do a photoshoot with L’Equipe.
Jan 13: Djokovic was included in the Australian Open draw as top seed.
Jan 14: Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa for a second time, saying he may pose a health risk.
REUTERS