Novak Djokovic’s deportation hearing happens Monday, after he tried to enter Australia with a “medical exemption” for being unvaccinated. Australian authorities have pointed out that if Novak wanted to leave the quarantine hotel, they would put him on a plane back to Serbia (or wherever) immediately. Because he’s choosing to wait in Australia for his hearing, he is required to stay in the quarantine hotel, and the conditions are reportedly pretty rough. Still, none of this would be happening if he had just gotten vaccinated. None of this would be happening if Tennis Australia’s CEO Craig Tiley hadn’t told unvaccinated players the wrong information to come into the country too.
Speaking of, one of the wrong pieces of information Tiley apparently gave players was that if they had Covid in the previous six months, then that was good enough to enter the country unvaccinated. People caught on to that piece of information, because Novak only admitted to having Covid back in June 2020, following the multinational superspreader Adria Tour, which was organized by Djokovic, and which left several ATP players Covid-positive. People wondered if Djokovic had Covid last fall, following the US Open… when he played indoors in Paris and Italy. Or perhaps even when he was playing Davis Cup in Madrid in November. It was a big mystery, until Djokovic’s lawyers made a filing in advance of the Monday hearing. Apparently, Novak tested positive for Covid on December 16th.
Novak Djokovic contracted COVID-19 last month but was not experiencing symptoms and had written clearance from Australia’s immigration department before traveling to the country with a medical exemption from its vaccination rules, his lawyers said in a court filing on Saturday.
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic, who remained in immigration detention in Australia after having his visa canceled on arrival Thursday, returned his first positive coronavirus test on Dec. 16, but 14 days later he “had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 72 hours,” the filing said.
On Jan. 1, Djokovic received “a document from the Department of Home Affairs [that] told Mr. Djokovic that his ‘responses indicate[d] that [he met] the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia,'” the documents added.
This makes zero sense. Novak was photographed (maskless) in public several times in that week-long period where he was apparently Covid-positive and (likely) symptomatic. On Dec. 14th, he went to a basketball game in Serbia where everyone was maskless(and several players tested positive after the game). On Dec. 16th, he was at an indoor event in Serbia for a panel discussion and stamp unveiling. Everyone was maskless. On Dec. 17, he was at the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade with dozens of children. Everyone was maskless. When did he get his Covid-positive result? And how symptomatic was he?
And besides all of that, Novak being Covid-positive on December 16th and using THAT as a justification for being able to enter Australia unvaccinated makes no sense from an Australian Open-paperwork perspective: even though Craig Tiley and AO were telling players the wrong thing about “having Covid six months prior,” the deadline for AO’s vaccination exemption was December 10th. Which begs the question, what was Novak’s vaccine-exemption BEFORE he tested positive on December 16th?
PS… Because of the time difference, we’ll have information about Novak’s hearing this evening. I genuinely don’t know how this will go.
There’s more:
On December 17th, the day *after* Djokovic’s purported positive PCR test on December 16th, Djokovic attended an award ceremony for children at the Novak Tennis Center.
Many posts from the kids there posing for pictures with him that day, again masklessly indoors. pic.twitter.com/2ecOSwA7lU
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 8, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
This is just getting worse and worse for Novak.
So he either lied about testing positive for COVID to obtain the medical exemption OR he ran around knowing he had COVID possibly infecting many. Either way it shows what a nasty piece of work he is
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again — this pandemic has proven that too many celebs, athletes, CEOs, etc are absolutely loathsome human beings. Yet the public’s memory seems so short. He’ll probably win, beat the record, and everyone will call him the GOAT. As a people we really, really need to stop worshipping these people who spit on mankind.
I’m so over this entitled, idiotic, anti-v*x brat, but if ANYTHING good has come of this, it’s the fact the plight of the refugees in that same hotel (who have been imprisoned for up to NINE YEARS) is now attracting worldwide attention. (And no, they don’t get a freaking balcony. They don’t even get windows they can open.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/08/world/asia/australia-djokovic-refugees-hotel.html
Djokovic is a moron but I’ll take him over those racists at the Australian immigration detention centers any time of the day locking innocent refugee children in terrible conditions for years cruel people
Just to say – for the record, I AM NOT DEFENDING HIM, I AM SO ANGRY WITH HIM – but “maskless” in Serbia is not unusual – people from more restricted countries love to go to Serbia to feel free of masks.
Confirmation: my boss went on holiday because he wants to feel normal, chose Serbia instead of his usual Austria: he called and said he tested positive an hour ago.
I hope Đoković is deported just to show that he is NOT above the law.
Ps. Obviously I believe he did not test positive at all. The timing is convinient.
“Maskless” may be the “norm” (and with 12,000 deaths in a population of 7 million, nothing to be proud of 😒), but he is saying he KNEW he had the virus. Not suspected, knew. And took no precautions at all. Rather than just stay home he went out and exposed all of these people to a deadly infectious virus. Because he figures, hey, odds are it will only kill one or two of these children…and the parents they bring the virus back to….and the co-workers they spread it to…and their families…
If this is true he is even worse than we thought. He’s total garbage.
COMPLETELY agreed.
Why would anyone want this a$$hole in their country again, ever?
I don’t like Novak for many reasons, but it’s possible he didn’t know he was positive at the time of the maskless events he did. The test was dec 16th, and I don’t know how long the turnaround for tests are in Serbia but the soonest most countries would have results is 24 hours, but might take 3 days. Obv. if this is a rapid test that all goes out the window. I wonder if he was wanting to get covid since that would be the onlt way he could play and break the all time record… This is after all the slam he does best in.
This is not good at all
I didn’t know that about Serbia. But, would it be normal there to have the virus and still be out and about maskless? (Genuine question!).
In terms of the timing of the application – perhaps he used his 2nd Covid infection dates to apply for an exemption with Tennis Australia (before the 10th of December) and then his later, 17th December infection, with Immigration when he arrived in Australia?
Even typing that out makes me furious – who gets Covid THREE times and doesn’t get a bloody vax?
Hey, just to give a glimpse into Serbia’s COVID attitude!
People isolate when they’re sick and don’t leave their house. From all the people who got sick, I know one person who went to the store (with a mask, but still, jesus), and two people who denied that they probably/maybe have omicron, so they went out and about acting like they’re sure it’s a common cold. Ugh.
That being said, we don’t wear masks on the street. They’re mandatory indoors. Unfortunately, even with the indoor rules, it’s not uncommon to see people forgoing masks, and it’s even more common to see people wearing them under their noses.
What’s worse, if he really tested positive and went out maskless and everything or faking being positive? Eitherway he comes out looking like an a**hole
This is so bad. He seems to have those devoted alligator fans but overall this is such a bad look. It’s shocking really that it has come to he either lied or hung out with kids maskless while knowingly having Covid. Shameless.
Wait, he tested positive just a few weeks before he needed it for an exemption, had no symptoms, and tested negative before getting on the airplane to Australia. How convenient. I am shocked he could only get one doctor to sign off on those documents, said no one.
Although I think Tennis Australia did him and other players dirty, it’s obvious that Novak doesn’t care about the rules or anybody else.
Just imagine if Serena did this…….the reporting would be very different.
The reporting? The cartoons, my God, the cartoons alone would have painted her a Typhoid Mary.
That’s a really good point – I think any female player would have been reported on differently. We have such a tolerance in our society for ‘bad boys’, but women are taken down for this kind of thing.
L’Equipe also reported that he took part in a photo shoot for them on the 18th December, so even if he says that he tested on the 16th and didn’t get his results straight away, he surely knew by the 18th and then chose to attend an indoor, maskless photoshoot while positive.
One of two things is true – he knew he had Covid but attended several indoor events while maskless and made no attempt to keep his distance from people around him. Or he lied on his form about having Covid so could get around the rules in order to play in the AO unvaccinated.
Either way, he’s a dick.
Really it’s lose/lose for him and his all of his kin. What a bunch of …. You’re either irresponsible or a liar. Pick the hill to die on, dude.
Would be great if people booed him in future competitions. Also, if people wore Novax t-shirts around the tennis courts.
I live close to Melbourne, and if he does get to play in the Open I think there will be a fair amount of booing. We had 50K new covid cases here on Saturday, so no-one here has any sympathy for someone who either lied about an infection to get into the country, or had it and exposed a heap of people to it.
Maskless is (or was then) fine in the UK as well, but if anyone tested positive they had to report and self-isolate for 10 days.
And revealing the date of the positive test achieves nothing if he had a deadline of 10th December.
All it does it make him even more of an arsehole than I thought he was.
He, Djokovic, has also stated that he was granted the temporary visa to enter Australia on 18th November. I wonder on which basis that happened.
He is constantly exposing others. First when he organized that tournament and now this. How can one be so ignorant or deluded? He is always doing something less than smart. Maybe he never got a proper education. He exposes his family everyday so I guess doing it to others means nothing.
I want him to be deported and then banned from entry into Australia for the next three years. The temper tantrum would be epic, but he needs to be reminded that the universe does not revolve around him.
And I want US Border Control to tell him he’s not welcome in NY either, unless he gets vaccinated. We have enough COVIDiots of our own. We don’t need him here, too.
My mother lives in Serbia. She comes to visit us a lot. She needs a PCR test done when she comes. The last several times she has come, the PCR test is completed within the same day and results are emailed to you immediately. The last time she did the test in November, results were back with her within 3-4 hours of the test being done. She is not a VIP and she had the test done in a public facility in a smaller city. I don’t believe that Djokovic, having the test done probably in a private facility in Belgrade, did not have the results sent to him immediately. So. If he was actually COVID positive, he absolutely would have known during the events he did. I don’t really believe he is that big of a monster, so I’m thinking he and his people are lying about having COVID in December.
But isn’t that a stupid lie?
It’s too late for the medical exemption application deadline, which was the 10th. And it makes him look like an irresponsible selfish arsehole.
I really don’t get it.
Geez, that’s for the info. I didn’t think that someone like him would have to wait long for results like us plebes, especially now, so this just confirms it.
Too bad the conditions are so rough for him…I hope this whole fiasco brings attention and justice to the people seeking asylum that have been locked in that hotel for YEARS. How nice that he got a speedy hearing…ugh.
His career should be over with these latest revelations. Entitled assh*Le who has put hundreds at risk. Done and finished.
The tournament paperwork had to be in by the 10th of December….he or his team did not comply and it was submitted electronically by when? The 17th?
Having had covid within six months of travel is not an exemption from vaccination into the country…..it is acceptable for the state of Victoria, for the tournament but you need to be already in the country…..
I don’t see the issue with Australia, they are following protocol.
Maybe someone in his team messed up but that is between them.
As far as having covid in December and doing events, seems odd that his condition did not surface via tracing those exposed and that is on him but there is also the possibility someone faked the positive test. Appears he didn’t change anything in his schedule after he knew he had it.
That…..needs to be investigated.
Can his appalling excuse of a family please just STFU and stop trying to make this into an international political/diplomatic incident? And what’s up with all of those twits demonstrating outside the hotel; do they genuinely think this narcissistic a**wipe’s ability to hit a tennis ball in any way enhances the human race?
They are also anti-vaxxers!
Has he lost any sponsors yet?
This is bad for Novak, who likely lied that he had COVID. I also wonder about his sponsors, and his career for that matter. Also, very very exciting legal stuff. Can’t wait to hear news on Monday!
I’m leaning towards the fact that he is lying. Which is crazy.
So this is totally an episode of Curb Your Own Enthusiasm, right?
This is a selfish man with a surprising number of enablers trying to cover for him. I hope other tennis tournaments take note and learn what not to do!
Dude, the amount of effort some people go through to not get a little shot that millions of others have gotten with no adverse effects is astounding.
I’d love to know what his sponsors think too. He’s so thoroughly unlikeable.
I hope every sponsor fires him. Appalling man.
Australian here – the deportation will likely stick. These cases are notoriously hard to fight in this country.
I don’t see how they could justify any decision other than deporting him. He lied, period. Either by faking up a positive COVID test to try to skirt the vaccine mandate or by knowingly exposing people to COVID without telling them he was positive, which is heinous. It’s a lie by omission, but it’s obviously the far more dangerous lie.
I’m not optimistic that his privilege won’t win out, but I sure hope they do the right thing and deport him. The Australian govt said there is “no such thing as an assurance of entry by a non-citizen into Australia”. Time and time again, his words and actions have gone against common sense and safety protocols… and resulted in people getting sick. Send his ass home.
The world is watching, Australia . Send this asshat home asap.
I hope he gets kicked out of the country. Several other players were told to leave the country, a tennis woman too… He’s not above them…
Per the BBC:
Novak Djokovic was given no assurances that a medical exemption would allow him into Australia, lawyers fighting to deport the tennis star have argued.
The court filing by lawyers for the Australian government also reveal Djokovic, 34, is unvaccinated.
Getting a positive test and not isolating is biological warfare! Terrorist actions right there.
Australian citizen here- he never had an okay from the immigration dept to enter Australia – that’s just another lie his team are throwing around. He completed the visa application online which according to his answers only INDICATED he could enter. This doesn’t prevent him from being stopped from entering once Border Force (immigration) see his actual paperwork once he gets off the plane. This would make a brilliant episode of Border Security!
Federal Court judge has just declared that cancelling his visa was “unreasonable”. Give me a break! The Immigration Minister can intervene personally to overturn the court’s decision and deport him. We wait in hope
But wouldn’t that be anti-democratic, going against the independent court decision? Yikes for Australia.
L’equipe ran a story that Novak did a photo shoot with them on 18 Dec after testing positive 16 Dec, and there were photos of him out and about on 22 or 23 Dec. So it’s super, super tight. Like 4 or 5 days. That doesn’t seem like enough time to be isolating with Covid but I don’t know what the rules are in Serbia.
It’s very suspicious but maybe God gave him Covid so he could come to Australia straight after Tennis Australia informed the players about potentially getting medically exempt from vaccination if you had Covid. Ha. Would he or his seriously loopy Dad arrange to pretend to have it a second time in December? That’s seems extreme even for him.
I hate the current conservative Australian government so I’m glad they have eggs on their faces but I also hate a rich entitled anti-vaxxer bending the rules and getting away with it. Such a dilemma! Same with ABF, who stopped him. I’m glad they stopped him but they’re not the good guys, they’re immigration stooges who enforce very bad policy.
Melbourne is the craziest place to have this happen right now: it’s a city of extremes, both good and bad, in a generally more chilled out country. It’s had the longest lockdown, it’s where wacky conspiracy theorists have been having protests. I love the city but it’s … tense. The only good thing is the international press has also reported on the country’s harsh, arbitrary treatment of asylum seekers. So many people didn’t give a toss until a tennis player was in the same place – for only three days! People have been there years.
Craig Tiley, the head of Tennis Australia, is, second to Novak, the person ultimately responsible for this complete disaster. He’s friends with ND, generally obsessed with star players and got tunnel vision. All the guy had to do was stick to the vaccine mandate as he publicly promised the Australian public, who are heavily pro-vax. But no, he spent months lobbying to sidestep it for Novak. And let’s not pretend it was for a Czech doubles player or a random umpire. Then he acted surprised everyone got upset. After his disingenuous behaviour with quarantine, and his silly games with bushfire smoke the year before, that’s three years of straight drama at the Happy Slam. He needs to resign.
Looks like they caved
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-court-case-live-updates-serbian-tennis-star-fights-to-play-in-2022-australian-open-20220110-p59n0m.html
He seems like scum.