Novak Djokovic is set to be deported after his visa was cancelled for a second time today, throwing next week’s Australian Open tournament into disarray.
Officials said the world tennis No. 1, who is unvaccinated for COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community.
The cancellation means Djokovic would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances.
Djokovic, the Australian Open defending champion, was included in the draw on Thursday as top seed and was due to face fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening match, probably on Monday or Tuesday.
The saga has intensified global debate over rights of choice for vaccines, raised questions over Australia’s bungled handling of Djokovic’s visa and become a tricky issue for Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he campaigns for re-election.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday.
Australia has cancelled Novak Djokovic ‘s visa for a second time, the country’s immigration minister announced on Friday. Pictured: Djokovic rests during a training session at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 14, 2022
‘Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,’ Hawke said in a statement.
‘This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds.
‘In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.
‘The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.’
Mr Hawke’s decision comes just three days out from the start of the Australian Open where Djokovic had hoped to become the most successful male player of all time.
It will likely result in another round of court action by the 34-year-old Serb who has already won the Open nine times, and throw the grand slam tournament into further disarray.
However, legal experts say it would be difficult – if not impossible – for Djokovic to successfully challenge a visa cancellation decision made personally by the Immigration Minister.
Djokovic could be held in detention in Melbourne while the Open goes on without the world’s top ranked player, creating a nightmare scenario for Tennis Australia.
Protests have been predicted and the federal government can expect an international backlash in response to its decision, particularly from Serbia.
Pictured: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic stands at a booth of the Australian Border Force at the airport in Melbourne, Australia, January 5, 2022
Melbourne’s The Age newspaper earlier on Friday cited a source in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party as saying the government was ‘strongly leaning’ towards revoking the visa again.
The tennis star, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption to requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19.
Australia has endured some of the world’s longest lockdowns, has a 90% vaccination rate among adults, and has seen a runaway Omicron outbreak bring nearly a million cases in the last two weeks.
Djokovic was facing mounting criticism for his actions, including from other tennis players set to take part in the Australian Open next week.
Greek world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas said Djokovic was ‘playing by his own rules’ and making vaccinated players ‘look like fools’.
‘No-one really thought they could come to Australia unvaccinated and not having to follow the protocols … it takes a lot of daring to do and putting the grand slam at risk, which I don’t think many players would do,’ Tsitsipas said in an interview with India’s WION news channel.
An online poll by the News Corp media group found that 83 percent favoured the government trying to deport the tennis star.
The cancellation means Djokovic (pictured taking a rest during training on Friday) would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances
Calls for Djokovic to be deported increased after inconsistencies emerged between his sworn evidence on immigration documents and social media posts.
Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against Covid, was denied a visa to enter Australia on January 6 by a Border Force official but that decision was overturned by the Federal Circuit Court on Monday.
He has since admitted providing false information on his travel entry form, which incorrectly claimed he had not travelled in the 14 days before his arrival in Melbourne, despite visiting Spain.
Djokovic has also conceded he breached Serbia’s isolation rules after learning he had tested positive to the virus on December 16.
Djokovic said he had been interviewed in person by a French newspaper while infected with Covid, and blamed his agent for the ‘administrative error’ on his travel entry form.
The discrepancies emerged after Djokovic issued a lengthy Instagram statement on Wednesday to clarify ‘misinformation’ about his movements while positive with Covid.
‘I want to address the continuing misinformation about my activities and attendance at events in December in the lead-up to my positive Covid test result,’ it began.
‘I want to emphasise that I have tried very hard to ensure the safety of everyone and my compliance with testing obligations.’
The tennis star, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption to requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19
Djokovic admitted doing a interview and photo shoot L’Equipe while infected with Covid as he had a long standing commitment to do so.
‘I cancelled all other events except for the L’Equipe interview,’ Djokovic said.
‘I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Équipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was taken.’
He also addressed the ‘human errors’ on his travel declaration which failed to declare that he had visited Spain in the 14 days before his arrival at Melbourne Airport.
‘This was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,’ Djokovic continued.
‘This was a human error and certainly not deliberate. We are living in challenging times in a global pandemic and sometimes these mistakes can occur.
‘Today, my team has provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this ‘matter.’
Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption to play in Melbourne by Tennis Australia. He believed he had met criteria set by Australia’s advisory board on immunisation and been given a federal government declaration he could travel.
He took his case to the Federal Circuit Court where the federal government agreed to settle the case and Judge Anthony Kelly quashed the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa on Monday.
Judge Kelly found that tearing up Djokovic’s visa had been unreasonable and he had not been given enough time by Australian Border Force officials to respond to their concerns.
Having beaten the Minister for Home Affairs, Karen Andrews, Djokovic then had to contend with Mr Hawke, a close ally of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
‘Following today’s Federal Circuit and Family Court determination on a procedural ground, it remains within Immigration Minister Hawke’s discretion to consider cancelling Mr Djokovic’s visa,’ a spokesman for Mr Hawke had said on Monday night.
‘… The minister is currently considering the matter.’
Judge Kelly had said on Monday if the government intended to cancel Djokovic’s visa the Federal Circuit Court must be given ample notice to prepare for future proceedings.
Mr Hawke had three options open to him.
He could have let Djokovic stay in Australia to compete in the Open, he could re-cancel his visa and ban the star from coming to Australia for three years, or he could cancel the visa but not impose a three-year ban.
Either of the second and third options was likely to lead to more legal action.
The Australia Open starts on January 17 when Djokovic wanted to launch his bid to become the most-decorated men’s singles player of all time.
Djokovic is currently level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 grand slam titles. Federer is out of this year’s tournament with injury, while Nadal will be playing.
More to follow…