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Highlights
- The Novak Djokovic situation has frankly been an embarrassment for Australia who had perhaps been determined to display their tough stance on Covid vaccinations
- Judge Kelly admitted his own agitation this morning, telling the court the Serbian was correct in assuming his medical exemption was valid
- And this is where the finger pointing started with a Mexican standoff between Tennis Australia, Home Affairs and the Federal Government – all pointing a gun at one another like the end of a Tarantino film
“What more could this man have done?”
This was the question posed by Judge Anthony Kelly – the judge presiding over tennis world number one Novak Djokovic’s case to have his visa reinstated.
The Novak Djokovic situation has frankly been an embarrassment for Australia who had perhaps been determined to display their tough stance on Covid vaccinations.
Mr Djokovic’s lawyer Nicholas Wood, SC, argued this morning that Djokovic had done everything that he thought was required in order for him to enter Australia. Not only that but Djokovic provided the evidence required to support his declaration when he applied for the exemption.
Mr. Wood said as a result of Djokovic providing sufficient evidence, the federal government initially granted him a visa.
What’s Gone Wrong?
So, it appears something has gone seriously wrong in the time between then and when Djokovic landed in Melbourne, where he was left baffled after being turned away.
Even Judge Kelly admitted his own agitation this morning, telling the court the Serbian was correct in assuming his medical exemption was valid.
Djokovic had applied for a medical exemption from having the Covid vaccination administered, and Tennis Australia did indeed confirm that exemption had been granted following a rigorous and blind process, meaning that the identity of the applicant was unknown to the two separate independent panels.
Then last Tuesday evening, Djokovic announced his medical exemption via his Instagram. One has to wonder if he hadn’t had made that announcement, whether we’d be here right now.
Australians were reportedly furious, many of whom having spent months in government mandated lockdowns.
Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison got involved saying Djokovic would be on the next plane home if he couldn’t provide sufficient evidence as to why he was unable to be vaccinated.
The Blame Game
Here’s the problem, which seems even more evident now: Djokovic already had provided sufficient evidence.
And this is where the finger pointing started with a Mexican standoff between Tennis Australia, Home Affairs and the Federal Government – all pointing a gun at one another like the end of a Tarantino film.
Following Morrison’s comment, Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, said that just because the Victorian Government and Tennis Australia permitted a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, doesn’t mean the Federal Government won’t enforce different requirements at the Australian border
What this seems to have come down to is a breakdown in the bureaucracy governing the rules for those entering the country for the Australian Open on medical exemptions. There were a total of 3,500 players and coaching staff who entered Australia for the grand slam tournament. Of those 3,500, 26 were granted medical exemptions, one of which was Djokovic.
Despite this, on his arrival to Melbourne airport, Djokovic was detained, and his visa blocked before being taken to The Park Hotel, which is also being used as a detention center for refugees and asylum seekers.
Remember, this is the world number one men’s tennis player we’re talking about here. Not only is he world number one, he’s arguably the greatest to ever play the game with twenty grand slam tournament wins – equal to that of Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal.
More importantly, though, this is not a crime. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that this is a person who seems to have followed the required prerequisites that was laid out before him.
Which begs the question Judge Anthony Kelly asked in court this morning: What more could Djokovic have done?
So, what’s the likely outcome from here?
There are plenty of signs pointing to a verdict in Djokovic’s favour, by the same token the federal government has further outlined that even in that scenario they could theoretically once again deny Djokovic a visa. One thing is for certain though, this is a royal stuff up from three parties…none of whom have the name Novak.
