The Novak Djokovic saga has not been settled. There were widespread reports in Australia yesterday (the 12th) that Oz’s Immigration Minister had made a decision about whether they would try to cancel Djokovic’s visa once again and begin deportation proceedings. The federal government has been “investigating” the situation since Novak touched down, although they bungled their first attempt to cancel Novak’s visa. After all of that drama though, the Immigration Minister is once again keeping everyone in suspense:
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke will not be making a decision tonight on whether to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa as the saga drags into its seventh day. A federal source confirmed Mr Hawke is still considering the matter and would not be making any decision tonight.
Earlier, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Mr Hawke was still considering whether to cancel the tennis star’s visa.
There was heightened expectation that an announcement would be made on the tennis star’s future in this afternoon press conference on national cabinet. But Mr Morrison said there had been no change from yesterday.
“I will refer to Minister Hawke’s most recent statement in that the position hasn’t changed,” he said. “These are personal ministerial powers able to be exercised by Minister Hawke and I don’t propose to make any further comment at this time.”
So, after another day of waiting, a decision on Novak Djokovic’s visa status is not expected to be made tonight, a federal source confirmed to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
There was a belief that Aussie authorities would cancel Djokovic’s visa just before the Australian Open draw was made, which is why there seemed to be a staring contest between AO CEO Craig Tiley and the government, with Tiley postponing the draw announcement. I still wonder what’s happening behind the scenes, because it definitely feels like certain wheels are in motion. In any case, Djokovic IS in the AO draw as the #1 seed. His draw is tough too – if he gets through the first week, he would potentially face Matteo Berrettini in the quarters, and either Alexander Zverev or Rafael Nadal in the semifinal. Potential finalists on the other side of the draw: Daniil Medvedev (who beat Novak in the US Open final), Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev or dealer’s choice. Andy Murray, a wild card, is on Medvedev’s side of the draw too.
I said this on Twitter last night and I still have this dark premonition that the Oz government is going to keep kicking the decision down the road for a few more days, and then during Novak’s first-round match on Rod Laver Arena, authorities will walk on court and drag Novak off. I mean, it would be chaotic and legendary, so maybe?
Also: Spain is now investigating whether Novak entered the country illegally (unvaccinated) in December. Serbia is also investigating why Novak broke their Covid isolation rules while he was allegedly Covid-positive. And there’s still the Australian investigation. Novak Djokovic, the #1 player in the world and one of the most prominent anti-vaxxers in the world, is currently facing criminal investigations in three countries.
PS… The AO women’s draw is f–king bonkers too.
Australian Open men’s singles draw (pdf view) pic.twitter.com/HBmZTOOQ8V
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) January 13, 2022
Australian Open women’s singles draw (pdf view) pic.twitter.com/djBqFU4Z1n
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) January 13, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
He has such a punchable face
@scorpion – this is 💯 the truth. If any of my pals showed up with him on a date I would break the rule of silence and warn my pal that he is likely a prick
Imagine if Serena or Naomi pulled this stunt!
Oh they would have been dealt with quickly.
Last year when Naomi was having mental health issues and didn’t want to attend a press conference during the French Open, the French Tennis Federation and the other three Grand Slams got together with a quickness and said they would kick her out of the tournament and ban her from Slams if she didn’t do press conferences.
But it’s perfectly fine if Novak Djokovic wants to spread his unvaccinated, diseased germs all over the place and infect multiple people. The French Open is welcoming him with open arms and said he is free to play even if unvaccinated (while they are teeming with COVID cases).
The other tennis player, Renata Voracova, was dealt with really fast, she’s been deported, but then, she’s a woman and not number one… The exact same reasons , her medical exemption was that she had had covid. The difference? She never lied…
He gets to stay…
Whatever…
Of course the women athletes are treated differently. They have been for decades! Just look at women’s volleyball pay scale v the mens volleyball, and the women had been winning all the the international leagues as well! The discrimination didn’t stop there either. If you looked at the weight rooms, the salaries and the treatment, it’s shocking that in the 21st century, women are still treated as second class citizens. And if you are a WOC, good luck! As you will be punished greater!
All this couldn’t have happened to a much more deserving person like Novaxx DjoCovid 👏🏿
I love the nickname… He probably would be proud of it, being so anti vaxx…
I can’t believe they let him stay. He lied to immigration about previous travel and there appears to be inconsistencies and questionability in the covid testing results he submitted.
What we do know for sure that he’s anti-vax. If he didn’t conveniently ‘get covid’ mid December, what was he going to do to enter the tournament? Get fully vaxxed? I think not. I just did a deep dive into Novak and he is the wooest of woo. Even if he did eventually come around to the idea, there wouldn’t have been enough time to get the two appropriately spaced doses. I believe his intention was always to lie.
One of the vaccines is a single dose… Janssen I believe…
“Wooest of woo”. Awesome.
I kinda think the Aussi minister will wait long enough so that Punchable Face won’t have time to contest the matter in court (to avoid a mix and repeat of the last battle). I still think he tested negative and the government switched it to positive. He knowingly cheated and bribed (though I think the Serbian government would change his test only for national pride, not money).
Ah–the let’s wait till the last minute so he can’t contest it argument does make sense. Good thinking!
I hope that they boot him out! He hasn’t taken any responsibility for HIS actions and truly believes that the law doesn’t apply to him.
Novaxx DjoCovid deserves to be put down a peg or five! His blatant disregard for the health and well being of all of those around him is utterly disgusting.
Novaxx DjoCovid lost his chance to play the minute he lied to everyone and the Australian government! Kick his ass to the curb, what a pr!ck.
Oh that would be good! String him along thinking he has a chance, then boom! Kick him out!
That makes sense – gives him less time to appeal and the tournament starts in a few days.
They already have a draw made with Novak’s name removed – they would just switch to the draw with no Novak in it.
I don’t think he can appeal a ministerial decision.
I think the government is taking its time to make sure everything is in order in case of a potential lawsuit. They are scared he’ll sue for loss of earnings/prize money.
Djokovic was supposed to have tested positive for Corona by December 10 in order to be able to play tennis in Australia. He did not. He supposedly tested positive on the 16th, was seen unmasked (!) hanging out with children on the day of his test!! Then he was mostly masked, but did not inform the reporters of L’Equipe that he might be positive/ was positive. Der Spiegel (the article is in German and paywalled) and the NY Times found inconsistencies with his test: it seems to have first registered negative before becoming positive. Der Spiegel also says that the test initially seemed to be for December 22. Djokovic was not allowed to travel for 14 days before his flight to Australia and he was supposed to be in quarantine. Social media pictures have him chilling in Serbia around December 25 and playing tennis on the street. Social media also has pictures of Djokovic in Spain around New Year’s. He has both admitted to making a mistake on the visa form and thrown his poor PA under a speeding bus. Am I missing anything??
Anyway, Australia should never have let him enter in the first place: the ATO, Victoria government and federal government all let him through and then the ABF did not treat Djokovic according to their laws. All 3 parties are now pointing fingers at each other… That said, if you read the above summary of how Djokovic got to Australia, kicking him out would seem to be a no-brainer, and yet he’s still there. Money, corruption that could ruin someone’s carreer, both?
Call me a pessimistic but you know what I think is going to happen? This f*cker is going to win the tournament.
I believe he will play and the Australian Minister won’t have the guts to kick him out… Afraid of backlash?
@Desdemona:
Oh, he will play. And I think I read right here on CB someone saying he plays well when the audience is against him.
Anyway, I hope that if he plays — and it’s looking more and more that he will — he loses, but deep down I think he’ll win.
@Eve
As always, life is so unfair… The rich get everything…
There’s a federal election coming up in a few months and a good chunk of the Australian public is upset that Djokovic’s unvaccinated ass is being allowed to stay in the country while ordinary Australians are being restricted in travel and in some cases not even being allowed back home.
If Djokovic is allowed to stay while the heavy restrictions for the regular public stay in place there is going to be massive unrest among the people. I hope they kick him out.
I think people will be protesting too. And I also feel sort of bad about feeling like this, but I am glad that his true colours are showing for everyone. As Australia’s own Nick Kyrgios once tweeted, his “biggest desire is to be beloved” like Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, but he’s just a big narcissistic a-hole and people aren’t stupid. They see through him. I’m just feeling satisfied that the rest of the world can see what an asshat he really is.
This is so unfortunate but I am afraid that’s what is going to happen…
I hope that people start to protest massively if this giant A**hole is allowed to stay despite his bunch of lies.
Love the video with the australian news anchors calling him a “lying, sneaky a**hole” off camera and the 1 minute rant. You all have to watch it,
I love it too… They are totally right..
I hear ya. If we’ve learned anything over the last few centuries, it’s that rich white men will get away it.
ML, I return the compliment. Your summary and conclusions are excellent.
Eve, I hope not!
@Jferber:
I hope not as well. But he’s the number 1 after all and now…extra motivated.
Stefanos Tsitsipas slams Novak Djokovic for ‘playing by his own rules’ making every other player look like fools … He’s not happy about any of this, accusing him of putting the Grand Slam at risk…
Doesn’t he have form as an anti-vaxxer as well? Sounds like he’s just pissed he got roped into having the vaccine and Novak didn’t.
You just know that if he gets to play and then writes his autobiography later, he is gonna include this episode as part of his struggle against all odds and the so called discrimination he faced blablabla.
Spiders and snakes of Australia, please, DO YOUR WORST. See how well his woo works against that.
Ha ha, totally!
Haha! Oh, but he has cures! A slice of white bread on the stomach, rubbing cheese on an injured leg, yelling at a glass of water to change vibration, 5G conspiracy, telekinesis, telepathy, levitation, and refusing medical intervention when needed. Just to name a few. When he did end up getting necessary surgery, he blamed himself for not being disciplined and good enough to heal himself.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/apr/20/no-vaxx-djokovic-why-his-spiritual-world-view-can-have-a-dangerous-side
…wow. WOW. WOWWWW. I can’t even…WOW.
They will cancel his visa on Monday morning and deport him immediately, when it’s too late for him and the tournament. It’s really a clever play. A lucky loser, who is playing doubles, will get a major payday and enter the singles draw. Novak can appeal, but It will be too late for him as far as the tournament is concerned. I foresee lots of lawsuits from people who were exposed and tested positive.