Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Jo Raphael: No special treatment - Novak Djokovic should be deported

Jo Raphael
By Jo Raphael
Rotorua Daily Post·
13 Jan, 2022 02:26 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Photo / AP

Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Photo / AP

OPINION

Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic has certainly caused a stir over the ditch where he is adamantly demanding to play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated and the furore surrounding his Covid status.

His future in the competition remains on a knife-edge.

The Australian government cancelled his visa, the Federal Circuit Court then quashed the decision but the Minister of Immigration is now considering whether to cancel his visa anyway, despite the court's ruling.

It seems this decision is imminent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The drama keeps unfolding after Djokovic's subsequent statement that he did not lie on his travel declaration - "my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia".

There is also outrage surrounding his timeline of events before he arrived in Australia.

On the day he was tested, he attended a ceremony to unveil postage stamps bearing his image.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The following day he was at an event in Belgrade where he presented awards to children.

He admitted he received a positive result the day after the awards event yet still decided to go ahead with a planned interview and photoshoot with L'Equipe because "I didn't want to let the journalist down" and admits it was an "error of judgement".

Discover more

Jo Raphael: Pests are a problem but prevention is key

09 Jan 09:30 PM

Jo Raphael: Buy now, pay later alcohol needs more oversight

21 Dec 08:00 PM

Jo Raphael: 'Racial profiling' should not still be happening in 2021

16 Dec 08:00 PM

Jo Raphael: Let's have clear rules to follow when making sunscreens

12 Dec 09:00 PM

He did not tell the newspaper about his positive test.

In my view, these are not the actions of a person who is worried about Covid or its effects on others.

Djokovic is a talented and entertaining tennis player. His attendance at the Open would be a huge drawcard, but the world is in the middle of a pandemic.

He has the ability to throw his money and influence around, but only to a certain extent and this is not the time to do it.

Victoria on Wednesday reported more than 40,000 new cases, the focus should be on minimising infections and deaths. This is a no-brainer.

The Australian government so far, quite rightly, has not been swayed by power or celebrity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Djokovic should be used to following the rules – tennis, just like any other sport or society for that matter, is founded on rules.

In my opinion, he's not playing by the rules here and is trying to circumvent them.

It must not be allowed. The minister should stick to his guns and cancel the visa.

It's ironic to me that one of the events where Djokovic attended was a ceremony receiving a stamp in his honour.

I believe the next stamp he gets should be the "deported" one in red – on his passport.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Hannah Cross embraces creativity for Miss Universe NZ finale

20 Jun 03:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Stars in the sky': Matariki ceremony cherishes those passed

20 Jun 01:45 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Why a journalist roleplayed a rescue victim with Bay of Plenty’s Civil Defence team

20 Jun 12:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Hannah Cross embraces creativity for Miss Universe NZ finale

Hannah Cross embraces creativity for Miss Universe NZ finale

20 Jun 03:00 AM

She repurposes op-shop gowns to highlight her creative skills and sustainable fashion.

'Stars in the sky': Matariki ceremony cherishes those passed

'Stars in the sky': Matariki ceremony cherishes those passed

20 Jun 01:45 AM
Why a journalist roleplayed a rescue victim with Bay of Plenty’s Civil Defence team

Why a journalist roleplayed a rescue victim with Bay of Plenty’s Civil Defence team

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Why a 'cute' pet is now included in a pest management plan

Why a 'cute' pet is now included in a pest management plan

19 Jun 10:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP