An application by the Australian federal government to delay the trial to refuse entry to tennis player Novak Djokovic has been denied. The case is to continue as planned with statements from both parties on Monday morning (local time), according to public court documents. The Serb Djokovic is fighting to stay in Australia and defend his title at the Australian Open.
The 34-year-old was refused entry on Wednesday evening (local time) because, in the opinion of the authorities, he was unable to present the necessary documents for a medical exemption to be exempt from a corona vaccination. Since then, the world number one has stayed in a hotel for people obliged to leave the country. The Djokovic side should first speak out in court on Monday (10 a.m. / 12 a.m. CET), the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior will give their opinion according to the plan at 3 p.m. / 5 a.m. CET. Oral statements should not exceed 120 minutes.
The Ministry of the Interior had requested that the turn should not be held until Wednesday, five days before the start of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Judge Anthony Kelly refused.
The court documents indicate that Djokovic is said to have tested positive for the corona virus for the second time on December 16, 2021. In addition, the side of the 20-time Grand Slam winner states that he received a special permit from the medical director of the Australian Tennis Association on December 30th.
Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Australian Open, referred to different information from the authorities when asked about such exceptions. “There has been a lot of conflicting information, a lot of conflicting information and we’ve been looking for clarity from day one to make sure we’re doing the right thing first and getting the players into the country second,” said Tiley on Nine Network. “We’re not going to blame anyone. There is a lot of conflicting information because things are changing.” In any case, he would “like to see the world number one at the Australian Open”.
Djokovic’s positive PCR test raises questions
The court documents also show that Djokovic stated in the questioning by an officer of the Australian Border Guard that he was “not vaccinated against Covid-19”. Djokovic had been keeping a secret about his vaccination status for months.
The reliance on an alleged positive PCR test result by Djokovic’s lawyers raises some questions. For example, why the tennis player hadn’t made this public before. So far, only one infection was known in spring 2020.
In addition, the tennis professional showed himself on December 17th, one day after his allegedly positive corona test, at a junior ceremony at the “Novak Tennis Center” in Belgrade. there he willingly took selfies and a group photo with Serbia’s best tennis talents – without quarantine, without a mask and without any distance.