Under pressure from the Australian authorities, Novak Djokovic admitted “errors” in his entry information and in his behavior after an alleged corona infection. “We live in difficult times of a global pandemic and sometimes mistakes like this can happen,” the unvaccinated 34-year-old said in a statement he posted on social media on Wednesday.
The tennis professional, who despite a partial victory in court on Monday still has to fear that his visa will be revoked and that he will not be able to play the Australian Open from January 17th, said that additional information was available to the local authorities to clarify the matter to have asked. He also fought against “misinformation”, which he had to clarify in order to alleviate the concerns of the people in Australia and to protect his family.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is still examining whether to withdraw the athlete’s visa a second time. A spokesman has now told local media that Djokovic’s newly submitted remarks “would of course affect the timeframe for a decision”. Djokovic admitted an appointment with the French sports newspaper on December 18 L’Equipe to have perceived despite the knowledge of a positive corona test on December 16. In retrospect, this was a “misjudgment”. The athlete did not want to let the journalist down, always kept his distance and, except for the photo shoot, wore a mask, said Djokovic.
Before another publicly discussed appointment on December 17 with children, he did not yet know about the positive corona findings and completed a rapid test that turned out negative. And he admitted that he had inadvertently made a false statement about his travel activities on his immigration form before the flight to Melbourne.
His management is responsible for this “human and certainly not intentional” mistake, and they sincerely apologize. Out of respect for the Australian government and the ongoing proceedings, he will not make any further information in public, wrote Djokovic. It is always an “honor and a privilege” to play the Australian Open.