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Home / Rotorua Daily Post

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

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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.

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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.

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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".

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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.

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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.

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