There were two other individuals, associated with AO 2022 who were admitted into the country under the same conditions as Djokovic. Nobodt stopped them at the border. If Djokovic was not there, nobody would try to deport the other two.
You could have also mentioned Nadal being allowed to enter Australia few days after reporting positive for Covid in Spain. As far as I remember, Rublev was also positive for Covid but allowed to enter Australia.
The following link will remind you that Djokovic had the most successful tennis career in history:
https://www.ultimatetennisstatistics.com/goatList
If he could compete in AO the year before, same rules could have been applied in 2022. We all know that vaccination mandate rule is an arbitrary one, it offers no benefit in protecting public health. Any major international sports competition should not take place if they discriminate against participants who chose not to take experimental Covid jab.
The two other individuals identified as receiving one of the illegal visas were not allowed to play.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-14/two-more-tennis-players-depart-australia/100756828
You mentioned Nadal.
Speaking to reporters, Nadal said that he feels “sorry” for Djokovic ahead of the 2022 Australian Open but added that Djokovic has long been aware of the COVID-19 vaccine requirements needed to enter the country.
Nadal’s comments:
“He made his own decisions, and everybody is free to take their own decisions, but then there are some consequences,” Nadal said. “Of course, I don’t like the situation that is happening. In some way, I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision.”
https://www.si.com/tennis/2022/01/06/rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-reaction-situation-australian-open
“...same rules could have been applied in 2022.”
Why? It’s their country. They can pretty much do what they want with it. And the people that made the decision on the visas had nothing to do with the tournament. They were the feds, not the state of Victoria or the Tennis Association that sponsored it of which both make money on who is there.
According to a number reports, if all of them can be believed, there were people there that had tested positive at some point before the tournament. But they apparently weren’t lying on their paperwork and trying to use other ways to sneak past it. And the reports didn’t mention any others that were deported so we don’t know that.
wy69