Posted on 11/16/2022 6:14:40 PM PST by george76
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic is set to be granted a visa to play in next year’s Australian Open despite his high-profile deportation in January.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday said it had confirmed newspaper reports that the immigration minister had overturned a potential three-year exclusion period for Djokovic.
The Australian Border Force has previously said an exclusion period could be waived in certain circumstances — and that each case would be assessed on its merits.
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The 21-time Grand Slam singles champion wasn’t allowed to defend his Australian Open title this year after a tumultuous 10-day legal saga over his COVID-19 vaccination status that culminated with his visa being revoked on the eve of the tournament.
Djokovic arrived at Melbourne Airport as the world’s top-ranked tennis player with a visa he’d obtained online and what he believed to be a valid medical exemption to the country’s strict laws for unvaccinated travelers because it was endorsed by Tennis Australia and the government of Victoria state, which hosts the tournament.
Confusion reigned, generating global headlines. As it transpired, that medical exemption allowed him entry to the tournament, which required all players, fans and officials to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, but not necessarily to enter the country. It was rejected by the Australian Border Force.
Alex Hawke, Australia’s immigration minister at the time, used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa on character grounds, stating he was a “talisman of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment.”
Australia has had a change of government and changed its border rules this year and, since July 6, incoming travelers no longer have to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. That removed the major barrier to entry for Djokovic.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Good. Djokovic is my favorite. I love the way he fights through matches.
He stood firm, a leader, took the loss to hold to his principles. Wish there were many more men like him.
Well played.
Spain lifts all COVID-19 international travel restrictions .. no longer any requirement for tourists from other countries to produce any COVID-19 documents to enter Spain.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4102652/posts
As we all expected would happen all along.
Let’s hope he cleans house in January and after he’s presented with the Championship Cup he just quietly walks off the court.And let’s hope he does the same at the US Open next year.
US extends vaxx requirement for non-US travelers .
Can’t have that Russkie winning again, bring in the Serb!
(Hoping the Austrian will wipe them all out, anyway.)
I would tell them to GFT
Exactly. I wouldn't show up at all. Australia deserves to have athletes across all sports boycott tournaments there.
The government in Australia tried to force him to be chemically raped. Why would he ever go back other than to burn it all down?
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