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Lawyers for tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic explained in a document filed in an Australian court on Saturday that he was exempt from vaccination against Covid-19 because he contracted the virus on December 16. . However, the champion attended the next day, without a mask, in Belgrade at a ceremony in honor of young Serbian players.
The Novak Djokovic case continues. While the Serbian champion is placed in a detention center in Melbourne after the cancellation of his visa, his lawyers explained in a document filed on Saturday, January 8, in court, that he benefited from an exemption from vaccination against Covid-19 as he contracted the virus in December.
“The date of the first positive Covid PCR test was recorded as December 16, 2021,” they said in a document filed in federal court, which is seeking to overturn the rejection of his entry visa to Australia.
Despite this test, Novak Djokovic attended the next day, without a mask, in Belgrade a ceremony in honor of young Serbian players, according to a publication of the Belgrade Tennis Federation on social networks.
In a statement released on December 17 at the end of the day, the Belgrade Tennis Federation announced on its Facebook page that “the best tennis player on the planet” and “holder of 20 Grand Slam titles” presented cups and diplomas to young players. The post contains several photos of Djokovic posing with federation officials and around 20 teenagers, all without masks.
Most of the Serbian media reported on this ceremony on December 17. The champion also attended the day before – the day of his positive test – another public event: the presentation of a tribute stamp bearing his effigy by the Serbian post. He himself posted a photo of it on Instagram.
Novak Djokovic traveled to Australia in midweek after obtaining a medical exemption from the vaccination requirement to participate in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, but his visa was canceled at his arrived and he has since been in a detention center in Melbourne awaiting the examination of his appeal on Monday morning.
According to his lawyers, the world tennis star has also asked to be transferred from the detention center in Melbourne in order to be able to train before the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic was placed in the Park Hotel center upon his arrival in Australia “despite his transfer requests”, they wrote in their application.
“Our team did an amazing job”
For his part, the boss of the Australian tennis federation, Craig Tiley, is trying to restore his image. In an internal video unveiled on Saturday by the Australian newspaper Herald Sun, the director of the Australian Open praised the “incredible work” of his team after the visa problems encountered by the Serbian player.
“There’s a lot of pointing and blaming, but I can assure you our team did an amazing job,” Craig Tiley said, speaking to the camera in a video intended for internal communication but posted on the site. Australian daily newspaper. “Unfortunately, in the last two days there has been a case involving two players, Novak in particular,” he said in the video.
“We understand the current situation and we are working closely with Novak and his team, as well as other people and their team, who find themselves in this situation,” he adds.
The Tennis Australia official explains that the federation had chosen not to address the issue publicly due to the appeal filed by Djokovic. But Craig Tiley assures that his team did “everything they could do according to all the instructions given to them”.
Charges against the Australian Tennis Federation
The tennis federation, organizer of the Australian Open, has been accused of misleading players about the requirements for vaccination against Covid-19 to enter the country.
In a note sent to players and published by several Australian media, the organization assured that a person who had recently contracted Covid-19 could benefit from an exemption from the obligation to be fully vaccinated. However, the Australian government has clarified that this provision is only valid for Australian residents, not for foreign citizens wishing to enter the country. He added that the Department of Health alerted Tennis Australia to this in November.
Retained as “Djoko” after having also had her visa canceled, the Czech player Renata Voracova, 38, a specialist in doubles, left Australia on Saturday, announced a government source.
With AFP
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