The world’s top-rated men’s tennis star Novak Djokovic is used to winning on the court. He had an amazing win in appeared in court Monday to secure his release from custody — clearing the way for him to enter his first major tennis tournament of the year.
The Federal Court of Australia overturned the state’s decision to cancel his visa for vaccine violations after a hearing full of technical glitches that included a Zoom bomber and low bandwidth. Victory will thrill the anti-vax set, for whom Djokovic has become a cult hero. The multi-millionaire billionaire has never revealed his vaccination status, citing privacy issues, but the fact that he is exempt from the vaccination requirement for entry into Australia implies that he does. non-vaccination.
The 34-year-old Serbian was detained in Melbourne after the Australian Open agreed to let him compete in the tournament with a medical condition despite a rule saying all players must be vaccinated. Australian officials took a different view, revoking his visa upon entering the country on January 6 and keeping him in an immigration hotel because it could not prove he was vaccinated. The hotel, where some people have been detained for years pending a decision on their immigration status, has been affected by the massive COVID-19 outbreak in October.
His lawyer Nick Wood argued that Djokovic actually followed all the rules. “What should someone in Mr. Djokovic’s position understand?” Wood asked the judge. “Any reasonable person will understand, and he understands, that he has completely ticked each box.”
Judge Anthony Kelly agreed, quickly ruling that the star athlete’s action to cancel the visa was “unreasonable” and that “passing back and forth” between levels of government was a waste of time. “The point where I get a little excited is, what more can this man do,” Kelly told the court. “The recording is full of statements by Mr. Djokovic saying, ‘If you would allow me to talk to people, even though you took my phone, I’ll try and give you what you want’.”
Djokovic has received a medical exemption to compete at this month’s Australian Open, where he hopes to claim his 21st Grand Slam title later this month. Djokovic’s exemption is based on the fact that he tested positive for COVID-19 in early December and therefore did not need to be vaccinated to compete. A copy of his positive PCR test result was released as part of the court proceedings, but the date on it – December 16 – means a series of photos of the athlete not wearing the mask with the children pictured on December 17 was given after he likely knew he was being positive.
But he needs to be vaccinated to enter the country, under Australia’s strict anti-COVID measure, which allows visas to be canceled “when the person poses a risk to his or her health, the safety or good order of the Australian community. , or to an individual in the Australian community. “
At the time of his detention, Australian Prime Minister Morrison defended his decision to revoke his visa. “Tennis Australia says he can play and that’s fine, that’s what they call it, but we make the call at the border,” he said on January 6.
A government official reserved the right to act independently to kick Djokovic out of the country after reviewing the judge’s ruling.
