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Novak Djokovic faces more heat
Updated On: 15 January, 2022 07:34 AM IST | Melbourne | Agencies
Australian government cancel No. 1 Novak’s visa again, citing public interest; authorities assure deportation won’t happen till his legal appeal proceedings end
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Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Australia cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time on Friday in a new attempt to deport the unvaccinated tennis superstar. However, Djokovic is scheduled to have an interview with Australian immigration officers this morning and the government will delay his deportation until this fresh legal challenge is over, a government lawyer told reporters.
Australia’s conservative government, defeated once in the courts, invoked extraordinary executive powers to again rip up the Serbian’s visa on public interest grounds. The move came just three days before the Australian Open starts, putting Djokovic’s dream of a record 21st Grand Slam in serious doubt. Djokovic, an avowed Covid-19 vaccine sceptic, is the tournament’s top seed and had been practising on the Melbourne Park courts just hours before Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s bombshell decision was announced. The government is “firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hawke said in a statement. He cited “health and good order grounds” for the decision and said “it was in the public interest to do so.”
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