the participation of Novak Djokovic no Australia Open became a soap opera from the moment he decided to compete without proving that he is vaccinated against covid-19. The world’s number one tennis player arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday, 5th, but was stopped at the airport because he had problems filling out his visa. The Serbian allegedly presented wrong documentation shortly after getting off the plane at Tullamarine Airport. According to the Australian press, Djokovic’s team had made a mistake in filling in the visa forms, without adding the important information that he had obtained a special medical permission to be able to enter the country without the need to prove immunization against covid-19, a mandatory requirement for all travelers to Australia.
The player landed on Australian soil around 23:30 local time, 9:30 am Brasília time. And, as of this writing, he and his team are still waiting for permission to enter the country. Not even his luggage had been released until then, already in the middle of the night on Thursday, by local time. Djokovic’s father Srdjan said the player was transferred to a room alone, separated from his team, without a cell phone and with two cops at the door. Also according to the local press, the visa problem should not prevent the tennis player from entering, but should make his arrival in Australia even more tiring and exhausting.
However, it is possible that the tennis player will face new problems even after regularizing his visa. Still at the airport, he will have evaluated his special permission to enter the country and compete in the Australian Open, scheduled to start on the 17th of this month. Medical permission is granted in the form of an exception for special cases where a visitor was unable or unable to complete the Covid-19 vaccination. And the local authorities will decide whether to accept the reasons presented by the leader of the world ranking.
Djokovic announced on Tuesday that it was boarding for Australia after obtaining special medical permission, which local legislation allows. The Serb, however, did not disclose what his motivation was. Australian Open director Craig Tiley told reporters the reasons could include previous reactions to vaccines, recent surgery, myocarditis or evidence of coronavirus infection in the previous six months. The most speculated in the Australian press was that he had contracted the virus in the last six months. “It would certainly be important if Novak explained the conditions under which he sought and got this permission, but that’s up to him,” Tiley said.
The situation, however, became international news and became another controversy involving the tennis player. Other athletes and characters from the tennis world have already condemned the request for Djokovic to enter Australia without revealing your vaccination status – he refuses to tell if he took the immunizer.
The controversy grew so much that the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, had to go public to comment on the case. And he said that there will be no perks to the tennis player if he does not present strong enough evidence to justify special permission. “If this evidence is insufficient, he will not be treated differently and will be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic. Absolutely none,” he declared.
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