I could barely concentrate on anything else yesterday, I was so focused on the hours-long drama in Australia. It’s confusing with the time difference, but basically as soon as the American East Coast was waking up, Novak Djokovic was touching down in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday night. He had announced his journey as he was flying out of Dubai on Tuesday. In that social media announcement, Djoker stated plainly that he was going to Oz with “an exemption permission,” meaning he had gone through the Australian Open’s rigmarole to get an exemption to their vaccine mandate. That social media post, along with Tennis Australia’s confirmation of the exemption, set off a huge, political firestorm in Australia. As soon as Novak touched down in Melbourne, he entered one of the most chaotic scenes of his already-chaotic life and career.
Australians were justifiably angry that the #1 tennis player in the world was entering their country on what was likely a bullsh-t “medical exemption,” especially given that Djoker has made many public statements about being anti-vaccine and pro-pseudoscience. As soon as Novak got off the plane, he was taken to a holding room in the airport and questioned by authorities about his visa and his (lack of) vaccine status. They reportedly separated him from his team (he was traveling with his two coaches, Goran Ivanisevic and Marián Vajda) and took his phone. His holding room was guarded by police officers. He was basically kept in that room for more than 11 hours overnight (in Oz) as everyone tried to untangle the political and bureaucratic mess. Then, about twelve hours after Novak’s plane arrived, the Australian authorities said that his visa had been cancelled and they were deporting him (or just putting him back on a plane).
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia on Thursday after initially being granted a medical exemption from the country’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements so that he could play in the Australian Open.
The tennis star, who was left stranded at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport overnight amid a brewing political maelstrom, was issued a letter by the Australian government saying his visa had been denied and he would be removed from the countryon Thursday, a source close to the tournament told Reuters. Australia’s border force later confirmed his visa had been revoked.
The player would file an injunction to prevent him being sent back, the source said. In the meantime, Djokovic was on his way to a Melbourne hotel.
In a dramatic series of events through the Melbourne night, Djokovic touched down at Tullamarine airport Wednesday about 11:30 p.m. local time after a 14-hour flight from Dubai, but was ushered into an isolation room under police guard when Australian officials said that his visa did not allow for medical exemptions. The source told Reuters that the visa and paperwork that Djokovic had used to gain entry into the country was the same as three other players who had already arrived.
The move by the Australian government threatened to cause a diplomatic incident between Canberra and Belgrade.
“I’ve just finished my telephone conversation with Novak Djokovic,” Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic posted on Instagram. “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. In line with all norms of international law, Serbia will fight for Novak, truth and justice. Novak is strong, as we all know.”
Yes, this was full-on a HUGE international incident. Djokovic spoke directly to the Serbian president once he was given his phone back. He also spoke to his father, who threatened to “fight in the street” to ensure that his son was removed from Australian custody. Serbia’s ambassador to Australia was on the ground, at the airport, trying to sort out the visa issues. The actual bureaucratic part of this is a mess on the Australian side, and they were clearly engaging in political acts to “look tough.” That being said, I 100% agree with the Djokovic critics in this situation: all of this for what? Novak Djokovic just needs to get vaccinated. Stop with all of this bullsh-t and get vaccinated, you f–king dope.
So, after all of this, Djokovic’s newly appointed deportation lawyer appeared in a court hearing about whether Novak would be deported. The judge refused to be rushed, and a final hearing is set for Monday. But it’s also possible that Novak could be put on a plane before the Monday hearing. It’s also possible that Novak will need to sit in a quarantine hotel for the next four days ahead of the hearing. What a huge mess. Oh, and Aussie outlets are saying that Novak’s initial medical exemption was actually different than other players’ exemptions – Djoker apparently only got one doctor to sign off on it. Hm.
Prime minister of Oz:
Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 5, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Bye bb!!!!
Honestly, at this point it is the Australian government who looks the worst.
Agree. This was so poorly handled by the Aussie government. The Tennis Association there too should be embarrassed as they are to blame for this situation in the first place.
The only one that looks bad is Djokovic and the TA to allow this egotistical @sshat to deceive the Australian government. The comments from the Serbian President is utterly delusional in regards to his statement that he “will fight the harassment of the greatest tennis player in the world”, in addition to this @sshats father are completely unhinged!
It’s apparent that Djokovic thought that he would be an exception, not the rule. Had this egotistical @sshat followed the rules, he wouldn’t be in this predicament. Djokovic knew the rules, he just thought that since he is so special that the rules don’t apply to him.
TA didn’t ‘allow’ him to do anything. They set out their requirements alongside govt recommendations, he just didn’t follow the govt part. It’s not on the sport to make sure his documents meet govt standards, they’re ‘government standards’ after all.
People always seem to forget these people have teams of others that organise this sort of thing for them, if Novax wasn’t absolutely committed to being dodgy he’d have been fine.
IA
Pathetic on both ends.
There was a direct quote from ScoMo – Australian PM – that Novak “did not have a medical exemption”. So it’s looking like the tennis authorities in Oz tried to fudge the exemption requirements. Or ND did. If this is the case then the blame definitely rests with the Tennis Association and ND never had the correct exemption to qualify for a visa, despite what he thought – and announced to the world.
It’s looking more and more like Djoker thought he had done enough for the exemption and Tennis Australia agreed with him, but his exemption collapsed under questioning from border authorities. There’s some reporting that he only had one doctor vouch for him, where Oz authorities need three doctors for an exemption.
Yes – this is what it seems like. I read that Djokovic offered information to TA and they took it on face value that it was correct, but that it needed to be assessed again by immigration officials and didn’t pass muster. This happens ALL the time at immigration, and not just in Australia – people arrive in a country, don’t have all the correct documents to enter, and get refused entry and turned around.
I am no fan of Australian immigration policy, but it seems like it is TA at fault here – although the Victorian state government had some involvement as well I think. It’s a right mess.
Also, why isn’t Djokovic coming out and making clear what his exemption is? I know it is private information and he isn’t legally required to do it, but it seems likely that it is a recent case of Covid, so why not just be open about it?
TA can’t fudge exemption requirements, they’re not a government agency. They can set out what they’ll allow for their tournament but the rest is up to the government and it’s on the individual to comply however they can.
Also agree. Djokovic apparently need 3-way agreement to enter Australia, and only one of those came from Victoria. So someone at federal level okayed this initially.
Djokovic, much as I absolutely disagree with this position, has the right to not get the vaccine. The price that he then needs to pay is that he cannot play the Australian Open. However, it really looks like the Australian government tried to bend their own rules here–it would have been much better if Djokovic was not able to board that plane in the first place.
I also have huge questions about the other handfull (out of 26 asking for an exemption) of unvaccinated tennis people (who are they?) who were allowed in. This morning they were reporting that those people used the same exemption as Djokovic: what did they do differently?
ML, from what I’ve read, only 3 of those 26 have entered the country and all provided the proper type and amount of documentation at the border. They also chose to do so privately and remain unknown. Djokovic announced all this publicly himself, leading to the circus. For what it’s worth, two unvaxxed players and one vaxxed with an unapproved vaccine who did not enter the tournament also chose to make their status public.
@ HinduLoveGod, Thanks for the update. I have absolutely no problem with Australia barring Djokovic from coming in! And I think the man often comes off as an arrogant, entitled jerk. My heart goes out to the Australians who were unable to fly home for years and those who endured a pregnancy-length lockdown. Djokovic has no business being in Australia, and he’s intelligent enough to know the rules even if he acted like a idiot trying to circumvent them. I feel badly for the vaxxed Russian who was unable to compete, as well as the Indian teenager who doesn’t qualify for vaccination in India yet.
What I read in the Dutch news seemed to indicate that someone at the Commonwealth level must have approved his visa: he was actually able to board his plane and land in Oz. And considering how he’s been quite antivax-friendly in his views, his lack of proper documentation should not have made it possible to fly unless everything was in order. This was poorly handled, it justifiably pissed Australians off, and it all could have been avoided. The only positive is that Djokovic is staying with long-term asylum seekers who are now in the international spotlight. No one ahould be locked up for years for trying to flee persecution!
Merry Christmas, Đole! It is Christmas in Serbia.
Edit: I don’t think he is a criminal or deserves to be imprisoned, but rules are rules, and he expected he will avoid them just because he is who he is. He deserves to go through the process as anyone else would.
This is very mean what you say. He is not a violent criminal, he should not be imprisoned. Especially not on his Xmas day.
@Fernanada He has not been “been imprisoned” by any stretch of the imagination, he was detained like anyone else with visa issues, and has been afforded a lot more leeway than any other migrant would be in a similar situation.
This is standard for anyone who arrives at an airport and has visa or other passport issues (for example – many countries require that a passport be valid for an extended period of time after arrival, if your otherwise valid passport doesn’t meet that requirement, you can/will be denied entry). That means detention at the airport, followed by repatriation (putting someone on an airplane back to their point of origin or native country). It is not imprisonment, it is being restricted in where you can go because you cannot legally enter the country.
It happened to my brother at Heathrow years ago. Six hours of being questioned and a return flight to NY. He was suspected of being an IRA terrorist at the height of the Troubles. He was not a terrorist or ever involved with the IRA – he simply had the same name as a known member of the IRA and that made British border control very uncomfortable.
@Fernanda
Read Laalaa’s comment again. She did NOT say he should be imprisoned.
He’s not imprisoned – he is completely free to get on a plane and leave Australia anytime he wants to.
I think he was mislead by the Australian tennis association, or whoever told him his exemption is good enough. And now they made a huge circus. So, in order to win some votes, the Aussie government is scapegoating Novak to show they don’t mess around and that no one is above law. I get all that, but I also think we shouldn’t gloat for any of the bad stuff that happens to someone, especially not on their religious holiday.
He was not misled. He (and his team, and the Tennis Association) knew exactly what they were doing. When you are used to zero consequences for your actions, accountability feels like “scapegoating”. He’s been on this anti-vaxxer crusade for months now…no sympathy for people who wilfully endanger others and think they are above the rules.
Permission to play at the AU Open does not include the visa to enter Australia. He or his team should be able to get that distinction.
Novak is no scapegoat. To call him that, there would have to be tons of people claiming incredibly iffy ‘medical’ exemptions from COVID vaccination and still getting legal entry into Australia while he was being singled out for doing the same thing. Given the country’s tight exit/entry requirements during the pandemic, it’s obvious that he was actually given preferential treatment in having the visa initially approved. The Australian government screwed up, but they did so by giving him the special favor to get into the country NOT by realizing their mistake and saying ‘never mind.’ Next time, they’ll just outright deny the visa, as they should have the first time.
He was literally gloating on SM that he had found away around the strict restrictions. It was disrespectful to Australians who couldn’t visit loved ones, elderly or even go home over almost 2 years that he was given preferential treatment.
And I don’t know what religious holiday has to do with it. He’s in a perfectly nice hotel. He was always gonna be in a hotel this holiday. People need to stop moddycoddling rich privileged men just because they are good at sport or acting or whatever.
Also can we talk about his dad literally trying to start a riot over this?
He’s an anti-vaxxed that tried to beat the system with some help from the tennis association. He got caught up in his own mess. If he misses Christmas it’s his fault. He knew the risk by 1) not gettting vaxxed and boosted originally 2) not being fully vaxxed in time for the Open and 3) trying to pull a fast one with the exemption and thinking he was above the law.
Tennis Australia is not the same as the Australian government and it was up to Novak to find out the difference. What they are doing to him is what they do to anyone who shows up to Australia without the proper vaccination documents. The Australian government cannot play favourites with the guy just because he won last year’s Australian open. There is a serious pandemic globally and in Australia there were actual lockdowns to prevent spread.
@Fernanda
You’re deliberately misunderstanding or misreading the the entire thing
He tried to get around the rules because he thinks he’s that special, and he refused to follow the rules in place for all.
It’s a mess for sure, but the blame falls squarely on both sides.
OMG. Poor little Serbian millionaire who wants what he wants and what he wants is to not follow any rules, guidelines or laws. How unfair that he should be treated like everyone else.
Australian government could have played this way better but Novak is also being an a**hole about all this. He’s not some crusader of individualism “sticking it to the man!” He’s ignorant, stubborn and making the start of the ATP season all about him. For someone so desperate for approval he’s not doing himself any favours.
He is an a-hole.
An a-hole who happens to be a tennis God.
He, and those who support him, made his own bed, he is not above the law, and to me this is #firstworldproblem .
A rich white male who can’t attend a tennis competition because he thinks he us above the law. No pity from me.
The Kanye of Tennis.
Get him out and let us get on with the tournament. I love the Australian Open and a lot of tournaments have been more enjoyable for me to watch when he’s not there anyway.
The Kanye of Tennis!!!!!
HAHAHAHHA!!!!
THANK YOU!!
I NEEDED THAT LAUGH!!!
I hope they get this selfish idiot out of Australia asap. I have watched a few episodes of the Australian tv show, Border Security, and most people who break the rules/have the wrong visa are back on a plane within 24 hours…. and I would love to see an episode with him getting grilled and sent home!
The Twitter threads on this one are priceless “the Manus Island open is proud to present Novak D…..”
Major Lols when the French open comes around I think..
Funny thing is now, even if the sport continues with the mandatory vaccinations and Djokovic is excluded, the winner will know he’s not the best because he’s been left to play with the ones who followed protocol. It won’t be the true world champion, the best in the sport.
Nah. The true champion is not only the best physically, but demonstrates good sportsmanship, like observing the rules of the governing bodies and getting vaccinated to protect their peers.
@JC — that’s BS….that will mean every time any of the top players don’t go to a tournament or are injured, the winner is not the best? nonsense!
Being the best and wining a tournament are not exclusive. The winner is not the best player in plenty of cases. How many times have the best players of tournaments faced each other in semifinals? How many times has a semifinal dragged for a ridiculous amount of time whereas the other one was quick, making the finalists play on completely different conditions?
And we all know Federer is the GOAT, it doesn’t matter if he loses early on.
It won’t matter to the one who wins. You are the best of the people you are competing against and that is all that matters. When it starts to cost these fools money and sponsors maybe they will wake up.
Oh please. The nature of sports means that the next “best player in the world” has probably already been born. What makes your legacy is how fans and your peers view you, that’s what keeps your memory alive. And that’s why Novak will fade. It doesn’t matter if he’s the best right now (and let’s be clear, it’s not like he dominated the second he broke onto the scene like Simone Biles, he’s only now considered the “best”, and benefits from previous “best” players aging out of their primes before he could face them.) He will probably break the tie this year (if he can trick another tournament into bending the rules for him), but his record will only stand for ten years at most. And then what? The moment he retires he and his father’s terrible characters will take over and they will squander whatever good feelings people have about him. He’s an object lesson in why it takes more than talent to make you beloved.
There was a great tweet showing empty and deserted streets of Melbourne with the caption “Novak Djokovic”s supporters come out to protest his treatment”.
I enjoy watching bad things happen to crappy people. So- thumbs up from me, assuming they boot him from their country and don’t relent which just makes them look like grandstanding drama queens.
Though of course had the just outright denied his visa application- that would have been more to the point and less theeatrical.
His exemption was most likely bs. So many Australians have not been able to return home for nearly two years because of the strict entrance policies and they were going to allow Novak to just waltz in with a sketch exemption.
That was what the Aussie prime minister was saying, yes. He was very clear that Djokovic did not have an exemption.
Mr Djocovid really should have double-checked and noticed that the conditions for entering Australia while unvaccinated and the conditions for entering the Australian Open while unvaccinated are not the same.
I bet he did know but his sense of privilege and entitlement rejected the facts.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’m sure he knew, he just didn’t care.
Of course he knew. But he assumed that his stature in the tennis world would trump Australian border policies. I’m so glad that he was shown the door.
This is so obviously Novax getting preferential treatment. That combined with his causing covid outbreaks, being just dumb about science in general (saying he could change water with his feelings?!) and apparently the Australian PM trying to boost his own profile being tough on Novax, Twitter was delivering amazing memes etc yesterday. I hope he gets kicked out.
The New York Times has a long piece about this this morning. (It might be behind a paywall, but here’s a link – if you don’t have a subscription but do have a library card and are hell-bent on reading it, you may be able to access it through your library if it has a subscription)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-australia-visa.html
It might be a mess, but it’s a mess World Tennis brought on itself. Australia’s Covid policies aren’t a secret. This guy thinks he’s above the rules because he has a gift for hitting a tennis ball. I’m sick of coddled stars who think that doing one thing better than 99.9 percent of us entitles them to put everyone else at risk. Novak has a right to not be vaccinated. Australians have a right to stay safe on their own terms. /rantover
On that side note, did you read about Nicole Kidman (an Australian star) who was exempted from the mandatory 21 day quarantine for HK when she came to film there? This sneaking past the barriers happens everywhere…sadly.
I hadn’t. A pox on their houses. (And not ours!)
But what was Nicole Kidman’s Covid tests and/or vaccination statuses tho? If she had a negative PCR COVID test before she boarded the plane to HK and she was FULLY vaccinated, then there was absolutely no preferential treatment for her. Maybe DJocker’s fans need to read all the rules and guidelines of each and every country before whining about how “one person (an Aussie at that) was treated differently than Djker even though they were in the same situation” waaa waaa waaa.
So from what I’ve read, this seems like the WT told him he was exempt when they shouldn’t have? Did the govt only get involved once he landed or did the govt initially okay his exemption also?
From what it seems, when his exemption was made public and people (rightfully) got mad, the government immediately announced that his particular case would be examined. If they were ok with this before public outrage, I have no idea.
Lol. This whole situation is bonkers. To make matters even more interesting is that the hotel Novak is staying in while he awaits deportation is a quarantine hotel that is acting as a temporary immigration detention facility.
Australia has an inhumane policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to detention centres offshore, to islands surrounding the area, while they await visa processing, indefinitely. The conditions are horrific. However, during the pandemic, the islands didn’t have the resources to deal with covid so asylum seekers and refugees requiring medical attention were sent to quarantine hotels around Australia. And this is where Novak now resides.
If there is a silver lining in all this, it’s that the asylum seeker and refugee situation is being highlighted in the news along with stories about the privilege and entitlement of men like Novak. I mean…
Wanted to say that! Very respectful to everyone, even to Đoković but SCIENCE.
And people comment he’s just happy because without him, he has a chance to win… I mean..
Having been to Australia from the U.K. several times, they take their visas seriously at the border and if it doesn’t stack up when questioned they’ll cancel your visa right there and then. I had a friend who’s visa information wasn’t correct / missing info and it was cancelled so Novak can take several seats here.
Lots of tennis fans making excuses for Novak in this comment section…
I’m in Australia. His “exemption” was having had covid in the last 6 months. However, the Federal Health Minister in Australia had advised Tennis Australia in a letter last year that prior infection wouldn’t exempt him from the vaccine requirements to enter Australia. He’s currently being held in an infamous hotel in Melbourne where they house refugees and asylum seekers in a makeshift detention centre.
For those askng why he should get the vaccine, please try to read and understand the actual science. Yes, the vaccine doesn’t guarantee that you will not get or pass on covid19. BUT IT REDUCES THE PROBABILITY of getting it and passing it on. How are people still not getting this?! It’s the decent and ethical thing to do for society.
Please do not respond to trolls with bulls-it “innocent” questions about not getting vaccinated. Just comment “troll” and we will see it and ban them. Otherwise there is a whole thread to clean and others will pile on.
I am so naive! Hadn’t even occurred to me that “Miranda” was a troll. Will be more mindful going forward….
Sorry, didn’t realize since I’m new here!
Miranda
Australia has strict rules he broke them. Is it your opinion that just because he’s a famous player the rules that apply to ordinary Australians shouldn’t apply to him just because he’s a famous tennis player?
Also Australia is literally famous for its strict border control and has often times of being very strict on non white immigrants even been accused of racism. But you wanna make a powerful white man who literally had a influential tennis association trying to bend rules for him the victim here? Is that what we are fighting for?
I know I’ve been insulting him for a few days in a row on this site, but the father saying he was going to take the fight on the streets gave me life. I was glued to my phone the whole day waiting to see how the drama would develop.
I also blame David Haggerty, he has to put his foot down to ensure even conditions in all tournaments, otherwise the season will be a bigger mess, if that’s possible. Though it seems that he is not popular at all so IDK.
Novaxx’s team (and President smh) are ranting and raving about him being singled out when in actuality, his every move has proven that he thinks he’s special, above the rules and entitled to do whatever the eff he wants. I’m glad that his time in AUS has been hell.
There have also been indications in the press that he may have faked his proof for vaccine exemption. The other players who got this exemption had to provide testimony from 3 doctors, he had only one (which he probably paid off.) One of the men in charge of health safety for the tournament quit the day Novak’s exemption was announced, was that out of protest?
I don’t really follow tennis or sports so I find this entire situation hilarious, though I’m sure it’s a nightmare for the Australian and Serbian governments and Tennis Australia. I don’t care what Novak Djokovic is going through, he knowingly put himself in this position. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. He thought he could game the system and because he’s the #1 player probably came to an agreement with Tennis Australia to be exempted on a bogus technicality. That technicality didn’t hold up to scrutiny and fell apart when confronted by border patrol. Now he looks like an idiot for not following the rules. He can choose to remain unvaccinated but that is probably going to cost him all tournaments going forward.
Boo Boo is so sad he wasn’t allowed to break the rules that he called his daddy and the f-ing president. Talk about privilege.
Fascinated by the Serbian president’s response to all this. What’s he going to, declare war on Australia? Withdraw Serbia’s ambassador? Impose economic sanctions?
To the people saying oh he never should have boarded the plane, but it only became a thing once in Australia because of border patrol.
Border patrol did not go rogue. There is absolutely no way this happened without government intervention. I also don’t think a mistake of this proportion is realistic. Honestly would not be surprised if they let him on intentionally and planned to do this at the end to flex. You can say I sound paranoid but that makes more sense to me than a game of “no take backs.”
FYI I am fully vaccinated and think he’s an idiot. Just in terms of this National snafu- obviously the Australian government thinks this is a better look than just letting him in. If they were willing to have this circus, who’s to say they weren’t willing to plan it?
My understanding (and I may be wrong) is that the exemption was granted by the tennis authority in response to their own tournament rules, not the government. He maybe assumed the border control wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
That’s correct, TA can only make the rules for their tournament – the rest is up to the government.
Tbh he’s a spoiled child. But to give exemption and then deport him in such a way, convoluted mess. They humiliated him very publicly. Both sides look bad.
Big guy just ended his career. Good luck getting any support anywhere he plays in the future.
It’s on-brand for Serbia and its “bodies” to try to force their will on other countries and their governments. Just saying. Novax needs to stop clowning and get the vaccine.
It’s way easier for rich people to play fast and loose with COVID. First, a lot of them – like this show pony – think that they’re “above” the rules that the rest of the world need to follow. Second, they have all the money in the world to throw at their healthcare (not that COVID discriminates). Third, these people will never know what it’s like to miss a week or two or a month of pay if they of someone in their household gets COVID. Screw this guy and his overprivileged view.
To those saying he’s been misled – absolute garbage. He has been to-ing and fro-ing and not giving his status to Australian authorities for MONTHS.
MONTHS.
He thought he could pressure Tennis Australia as one of the main drawcards and they’d just let him slip in (it looks like they DID cave somewhat but they are NOT the border authority and they know it – and so does he).
He’s an a$$hat. Millions of Melbournians, and Australia have had the strictest lockdown in the world and this bozo thinks he’s better than all of us and can just bounce in?
Yeah…nah.