Novak Djokovic Denied Entry To Australia

Overview

Novak Djokovic Denied Entry Into Australia refers to professional tennis player Novak Djokovic, ranked No. 1 in the world at the time, not being allowed to enter the country to defend his title in the Australian Open due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19. The event went viral in early 2022, causing controversy and online debates surrounding Australia's strict COVID policy, Djokovic himself and the role of international competitions, such as the Olympics, with countries having different protocols.

Background

On January 4th, 2022, Novak Djokovic announced that he was given a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine and would be traveling to Australia to compete in the Australian Open, of which he was the most recent winner. His announcement^[1] generated over 90,000 likes and 16,000 retweets within six days (shown below), as well as setting off a chain of events with other Australian Open players, support staff and former Australian Medical Association Vice President Stephen Parnis decrying Djokovic's medical exemption.

Djokovic arrived in Melbourne on January 5th, 2022, where he was detained as the Australian Government reversed the medical exemption and declared him unable to enter the country. On January 6th, he was promptly moved into an immigration detention center, turning this into an international affair as Serbian President Aleksander Vucic made a post on Instagram^[2] where he detailed a phone call he had with Djokovic, saying that the entire nation of Serbia is with him and they would not stop in their legal pursuit of freeing him, receiving 17,000 likes and 890 comments in four days (shown below).

Later that day, an official appeal was put in by Djokovic's lawyers, with the appeal hearing itself set for January 10th, 2022, giving a date and location for supporters of his to know where to show up in support of the star.

Online Reaction

Online reactions were mixed between support for Djokovic, condemnation for Australia and others taking shots at Djokovic for not getting vaccinated in an attempt to stop the spread. When Djokovic was first given his medical exemption, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked by a news reporter about the status of Djokovic's vaccination passport, to which he responded that the state of Victoria granted him the exemption and it wouldn't be up to the Australian Government to change the arrangement. This question was reposted to Twitter^[3] by the account @itisimrankhan on January 8th, 2022, earning 200,000 views in two days (shown below).

This was Australia's PM a day before Djokovic was stopped at the airport. 👇 pic.twitter.com/h5ucQOre4O

— Imran Salahuddin (@itisimrankhan) January 8, 2022

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted^[4] on January 6th, 2022, that vaccine passports, which were discussed in America and are widely used in international travel abroad, are wrong and no one should be forced to share their vaccination status, while sharing a news report from Fox News about his detention, earning 4,000 likes in four days (shown below).

Djokovic's rival and fellow tennis player Rafael Nadal was asked about the Djokovic situation on January 6th, where he stated that while he doesn't like the current situation, it is ultimately Djokovic's actions that led to it and it is his fault, making him the most prominent supporter of the Australian government's actions in reversing the medical exemption. Nadal's words were tweeted^[5] by the official Bloomberg account, where they received 2,500 likes and 162,000 views in four days (shown below).

"The world, in my opinion, have been suffering enough to not follow the rules." Here's what Rafael Nadal said when asked about rival Novak Djokovic's attempt to enter Australia https://t.co/vbpkW9mecB via @quicktake pic.twitter.com/sIx0hXGx7G

— Bloomberg (@business) January 6, 2022

Developments

Djokovic Wins Appeal

On January 10th, 2022, Novak Djokovic won his appeal and was promptly released from detainment. Over the past few days, a crowd had begun to form outside the center, and when he was released, they welcomed him warmly, as shown in the video tweeted^[6] by @PolcaDorka (shown below).

A huge crowd welcomes Novak Djokovic after winning legal battle in Australia over his visa.🔥 pic.twitter.com/VCEUNdO1XP

— Polca , GETTR Americanka🇺🇸🍊🇵🇱 (PolcaDorka) January 10, 2022

The victory in court only reinstated his medical exemption and allowed him to enter the country. Reports indicate there are still ways for him to either be denied the chance to play or deported and possibly banned from the country due to the power held by various officials within the Australian government.

Search Interest

External References