Djokovic loses visa appeal, won't play in Australian Open

CNN ^ | 1/16/22 | By Hilary Whiteman, Julia Hollingsworth, Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton, CNN

[DallasBiff]

Djokovic confirms he is leaving: "I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open."

In a statement released after his appeal was dismissed on Sunday, Novak Djokovic said he would cooperate with authorities in arranging his departure from the country and confirmed he would not be playing in the Australian Open.

He said that while he was "extremely disappointed" in the judge's decision, "I respect the Court’s ruling and I'll cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from Australia."

He will now take time to rest and recuperate, he added, wishing good luck to fans, staff and players at the Australian Open.

[dblshot]

Eventual winner will always be tarred with Djokovic absent champ.

[JayGalt]

Australia is disgraced by their actions not just in this case but in strong arming their ABOs & other Australians. The Australian people need to take out the trash & abjure tyranny as do Americans.

[GregH]

You are missing the pint, Djokovic did not violate a single Immigration rule.

The minister is deporting through an extraordinaty clause of public interest where he considers a Djokovic a threat to society due to his anti vaccine views.

It is kind of action you would exoect from a North Korean leader and not a western nation.

[Gay State Conservative]

Exactly! Laughing stock! I'd love to see him announce,as he's getting on the plane,that he'll never set foot in Australia again. What the delusional politician(s) and bureaucrat(s) involved clearly don't understand is that their tiny nation needs Djokovic far,*far* more than he needs it.

It pains me to say that about a nation for which I once had *huge* respect.Of course I know that all Western nations have crazy officials but to let these officials cause such great damage is beyond belief.

[Mozzafiato]

And some current and past players are not in his favor. “The Australian Open is much more important than any player,” Rafael Nadal, who has also won 20 Grand Slam titles, said on Saturday. “If he’s playing finally, OK. If he’s not playing, The Australian Open will be a great Australian Open with or without him.”

Nadal is a coward and it's in his vested interest that Djokovic not play, so whatever he says isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[period end of story]

Would love to see the players boycott,
and the announcers denounce this idiocy.

Crickets....?

[mykroar]

This was a set-up from the beginning:

The Persecution of Novak Djokovic

[Steven Tyler]

Yup, the gubmint and courts stepped up to block his participation in a tennis match

[stratboy]

With his departure, the Aussie open has lost its luster. If there were some other top level pull outs, it send a statement.

If I were him, I’d never go back and bash them at every opportunity. My only concern is the other weakling countries will do something similar with their COVID induced hysteria.

[Sgt_Schultze]

If the world top tennis players remain to legitimize this overreach, they deserve the escalation that will inevitably follow. The Australian Open should be reduced to a high school junior varsity competition.

[vivenne]

Yes. Djockavic was to play in the AO in order to defend his title as last year’s champion and to try to win the tournament in order to be break the 3 way tie (one being Nadal) for most championships won. As a life long tennis fan who loved Nadal and was lukewarm about Novak, my opinion has changed 180 degrees. There were about 10 other players who were lowered ranked who were given exemptions and let into the country only to be harassed and embarrassed because TPTB wanted to send a message to the unvaccinated Australians that the government is in charge so don’t cross them. Many Australians were angry with Novak for not being a sheep like them (he’s had Covid). Australia and its citizens are lost. They are now Good Germans.

[vivenne]

The next big tournament is the French Open in May. Who knows what the status of Covid will be then but given Macrons current stance on vaccinations I doubt Novak will be able to play. All those who may end up winning because the #1 player in the world has been eliminated due to not acknowledging natural immunity will forever have their titles questionrd.

[stars & stripes forever]

He probably wanted to get out of Australia ASAP in case the officials wanted to put him in a COVID-19 Concentration Camp.

Never would believed freedom loving Australia would turn to Nazism.

[vivenne]

They had already given him and about 10 other players exemptions and let them board flights and some had already started to play. Them Djockavic won in court and started to practice and then the government decided that letting an unvaccinated (he had covid already) play might send the wrong message to the sheep who are already vaccinated and to those who have not been. Strong arm PR move and ab embarrassing one at that.

[vivenne]

Agree. The are so oppressed they are all in favor of this. Definition of Stockholm Syndrome.

[vivenne]

Yep.

[vivenne]

Yes. This is what happened. An Australian judge found in favor of Djockovic then some government official said by being unvaccinated was a threat to the minds if the countrymen. 100% political.

[sitetest]

australia, as a country, had been trying for decades to eat Christmas dinner at the adults’ only table. Now, it has been relegated for decades to come back to the kiddies’ table. Junior “country.”

[bgill]

At one point, Australia would have been at the top of the bug out list. For a while now, no way.

They did eliminate one of their tennis competition.

[reaganbooster]

He is the smart one here. By getting the vaccine clot shot he’s potentially risking his finely tuned body to injury.