Victory for Novak Djokovic. Often, this sentence has all of a pleonasm. This time it is a huge sensation. The Serbian tennis player’s appeal to Australian courts regarding the revocation of his visa was accepted on Monday to everyone’s surprise. Federal Judge Anthony Kelly has ordered his immediate release, giving him the chance to stay on the island, play the Australian Open (January 17-30) and possibly win a coveted 21st Grand Slam .
The decision was rendered in mondovision this Monday morning in the absence of the person concerned. Faced with this huge disappointment, the lawyer for the federal government said that it still had the possibility of ordering the expulsion of the world number one. This decision would have the consequence of preventing him from entering Australia for three years.
The hearing opened with delay due to a computer problem due to too many connections to attend its retransmission online. The judge finally asked that his access not benefit from a live public broadcast and some media may have been reserved restricted access. A measure somewhat futile, because anti-tax activists finally continued to share the link to follow the audience live on YouTube.
“What more could this man have done?” “
During his hearing, the magistrate considered that the Serb had provided evidence, emanating from “a professor and an eminently qualified doctor” concerning his request for medical exemption. “What more could this man have done?” “, Also wondered the judge.
This soap opera as lunar as it is confusing began when it left Melbourne airport on Wednesday evening. The federal authorities had refused him entry, considering that his grounds for exemption did not meet the strict conditions for entry into the territory related to the fight against Covid-19.
On Saturday, the world’s number one lawyers said he tested positive for Covid-19 on December 16, 2021, which is why he was allowed to fly. This information raises several questions because Djokovic attended two public events in Belgrade, without a mask, the same day and the day after this positive test. Its contamination also comes after the deadline set by the Australian tennis federation to register for the Australian Open (January 17-30).
Above all, this reason for medical exemption is not one, in the eyes of the federal government. The latter recalled that a recent infection only counts as an exemption for residents only, and not for foreign nationals trying to enter the country. A clarification that the Australian federation and its boss Craig Tiley are accused of having concealed from the participants in the Australian Open.