With a long statement via Instagram, tennis star Novak Djokovic himself made public statements for the first time since his entry problems to Australia, but caused further contradictions.
The 34-year-old number one in the tennis world rankings fought against two allegations on Wednesday around another training session in Melbourne Park: Neither did he deliberately give false information about his travel behavior in the 14 days before the flight to the host country of the coming Week beginning Australian Open, he still attended an event with children in December, knowing his positive corona test, and moved there without a mask.
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Djokovic described the “misinformation” that needed to be corrected as “hurtful and worrying to my family”. He wants to point out that he has tried very hard for the safety of others and compliance with test specifications. It was important to him to clarify all of this, but he would not comment on the incident out of respect for the Australian government.
However, the Serb also admitted that in an interview with the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on December 18, he already knew about his positive test result and still had not canceled the appointment. He just kept his distance and only removed his mask for the photographer. “Although I went home after the interview and went into isolation for the prescribed length of time, after thinking more carefully, that was a misjudgment and I understand that I should have postponed this commitment,” he wrote.
Djokovic speaks of a “human error” on the part of his agent
Djokovic was refused entry to Australia at Melbourne Airport last week because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus and the documentation of his medical exemption was insufficient for the authorities. Because the border officials had not given him the agreed time to clarify, the decision was overturned during a court hearing on Monday.
The Australian immigration minister has since reserved the right to make use of his personal rights and still invalidate Djokovic’s visa. That decision is still pending.
Djokovic’s lawyers provided more information and documents on the matter, said the tennis pro and a spokesman for Minister Alex Hawke. “Of course, this has an impact on the time frame for a decision,” it said, according to the Australian media from the ministry.
The fact that it was incorrectly stated in his entry form that he had not traveled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia was described by Djokovic as a “human error” by his agent, “which was certainly not intentional”.
At the event with children, at which he appeared on December 17th and thus, according to previous information in the court documents, one day after “test and diagnosis” without a mask, he had not yet known about the positive result. He did a negative antigen test on December 16 and, out of sheer caution, also a PCR test. “I had no symptoms and felt fine and I received the news of the positive PCR test only after the event,” wrote Djokovic.
On Tuesday, among other things, the “Spiegel” reported new doubts: According to the magazine, the digital result of the positive test is dated December 26th. Documents from the Serbian Public Health Institute indicate that Djokovic was said to have tested positive on December 16.
The digital date seems strange because the evidence of his recovery, the negative test, is said to have been made on December 22nd. The serial numbers of the tests match. As a result, the negative test was carried out before the positive test, writes the “Spiegel”. It is of course also possible that the test result was manipulated.
It had already become known that the QR code on the document of the Serbian Institute for Public Health, which has since become public, showed different results at different times, such as the chief editor of “Racquet Magazine”, Ben Rothenberg, on Twitter writes: sometimes positive, sometimes negative.
It is also unclear whether world number one Djokovic will be allowed to play at the Australian Open from January 17th. The responsible immigration minister Alex Hawke could still revoke Djokovic’s visa. “In accordance with the required procedure, Minister Hawke will examine the matter thoroughly,” said a spokesman.
In the meantime, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Serbia’s Prime Minister Anna Brnabić have even telephoned, as reported by the Australian news agency AAP. Morrison had insisted on his country’s “non-discriminatory” border policy with regard to Corona protection, Brnabić on the importance of Djokovic to train before the tournament. According to media reports, the Serb is now doing this in the Rod Lover Arena, one of the venues for the Australian Open.
The player, who is not vaccinated against the corona virus, based his entry into Australia on a corona infection that he survived in December 2021, which gave him a “medical exemption”.
Now this recovered status is in question – and proves to be a boomerang. In addition, incorrect information on Djokovic’s entry form could create additional difficulties. As the Australian media reported on Tuesday, a statement in the document does not correspond to the truth: Contrary to the information, Djokovic did not stay in the country of departure Spain, where he had trained at Christmas time, during the 14 days before the flight to Australia in his home country Serbia.
Violation of entry rules
“Giving false or misleading information is a serious violation,” says the entry form. “You can be held liable for a civil penalty if you give false or misleading information.” You could even face up to 12 months in prison, writes the British newspaper “Daily Mail”.
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The allegations are all the more serious in view of Judge Anthony Kelly’s decision on Monday to release Djokovic from the deportation hotel in Melbourne where he was housed at the weekend. “What more could this man have done?” Kelly had said in Djokovic’s defense.
Djokovic has also been shown to have attended public events, although he had previously tested positive for the corona virus. He also didn’t wear a mask at the events.
According to the athlete’s test document, a PCR test confirmed Djokovic’s corona infection on December 16 at 8:19 p.m. Nevertheless, the next day he received numerous children in the “Novak Tennis Center” and posed with them for selfies – without a mask. On the following December 18th, the world number one did not isolate himself at home, but went to a photo shoot on the occasion of the award ceremony “Champion of Champions 2021” by the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe”.
Not only did Djokovic disregard any protective measures, as it now shows; but his infection came too late to even allow him the “medical exemption”.
The deadline for such approval expired on December 10, as Ben Rothenberg did reported. Nevertheless, the medical director of the Australian Open issued the permit – and only on December 16.
Father compared him to Jesus
The case had led to demonstrations in Djokovic’s homeland. “All of Serbia is behind him,” President Aleksandar Vučić wrote on Instagram after a phone call with the athlete. Djokovic’s father had compared his son to Jesus Christ.
Djokovic also receives support from the liberal Senator Alex Antic. “The world wants to see Novak play,” he wrote in a statement to his party colleague Alex Hawke. However, Antic, whom “Independent Australia” referred to as the “Trumpists’ posterboy”, was only able to travel with a special permit in December – and was taken to a quarantine hotel because he did not want to reveal his vaccination status to his airport officials.
Even at the beginning of the pandemic, Djokovic had noticed that he had deliberately not adhered to protective measures against Corona and also put others in danger. In June 2020, for example, he held the “Adria Tour” and was infected with the virus in the process. (with dpa)
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