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Novak Djokovic’s last-gasp bid to avoid deportation before the Australian Open appears to be in tatters after he was detained by Border Force hours before he began his court fight to stay in the country.
The World No. 1 began his interview with immigration officials at an undisclosed location at around 9pm GMT on Friday. Border authorities then detained Djokovic following a court-ordered arrangement.
His lawyers are understood to have made their submissions during the online Federal Court hearing presided by Judge David O’Callaghan at his solicitors’ offices at 10.15am.
The court failed to come to a decision whether the hearing will be presented before a full court with the matter to be decided later today.
Immigration officials revoked the Serbian’s visa on Thursday, insisting the tennis star, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community and dashing his hopes of competing for his 21st Grand Slam title next week.
Novak Djokovic has met with Border Force for an interview at a secret location as he fights deportation so he can continue to play at the Australian Open
Djokovic will then attend the online Federal Court hearing presided by Judge David O’Callaghan at his solicitors’ offices, with immigration officials deployed on the same floor, government lawyer Stephen Lloyd said
Djokovic will spend the weekend in the same Melbourne detention centre (above) in the final days before the Australian Open gets underway
The tennis star’s visa was axed for a second time on Friday, sparking outrage from the community and Serbian president Aleksander Vucic
A video on Friday evening showed a car – believed to be carrying Djokovic – arriving at his lawyer’s officers ahead of the hearing being announced
Djokovic will be transported to detention where he will spend the night in detainment until the next court hearing at around 10.30pm UK time on Saturday.
If his case is unsuccessful, the tennis great will be deported and he could be barred from receiving a new Australian visa for three years.
Serbian president Aleksander Vucic took to Instagram to accuse the Australian government of ‘mistreating’ their national sports icon after his visa was axed for a second time on Friday.
‘Why are you mistreating him, why are you taking it out not only on him but also on his family and the whole nation?’ Mr Vucic asked.
A video was uploaded to his 160,000 followers and titled, ‘Support for Novak Djokovic and response to the Prime Minister of Australia.’
Mr Vucic has been critical of the treatment of Djokovic since he arrived in Australia last Wednesday.
‘If you wanted to ban Novak Djokovic from winning the 10th trophy in Melbourne why didn’t you return him immediately, why didn’t you tell him ‘it is impossible to obtain a visa’?’ he said.
‘Novak, we stand by you!’ he added.
Djokovic’s last-gasp bid to avoid deportation suffered a potential setback on Friday when his case was transferred to the Federal Court, with Judge Anthony Kelly – who overturned the original cancellation – saying a new court and new judge would have to hear the challenge to the player’s visa being cancelled again.
But the Serbian’s lawyers fought back, arguing in court on Friday night that Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had cancelled Djokovic’s visa on the grounds his presence at the high-profile tennis tournament might excite anti-vaccination sentiment. The reasons for Mr Hawke’s decision have not yet been published.
Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to win their men’s singles final at the Australian Open in 2021. Djokovic has launched a last-ditch appeal to stay in Australia and defend his title at the Grand Slam which starts on Monday
The minister’s decision was ‘patently irrational’, Djokovic’s lawyer Nicholas Wood told the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, adding that they wanted the challenge to the player’s visa revocation to be heard on Sunday, so that he could play in the Australian Open on Monday should it be successful.
It was confirmed by government lawyers that Mr Hawke was not seeking to detain the tennis star overnight, but he would be detained at the Department for Home Affairs and, after spending time with his lawyers preparing his case, he would then be taken back into detention on Saturday night.
Djokovic, the Australian Open defending champion, was included in the tournament’s draw on Thursday as top seed and is due to face fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic for his opening match on Monday.
The visa cancellation could mean the 34-year-old would be barred from receiving a new Australian visa for three years – except in compelling circumstances – potentially ruling him out of future Australian Open competitions.
A video on Friday evening showed a car – believed to be carrying the player – arriving at his lawyer’s officers ahead of the hearing being announced.
Mr Wood requested the injunction against the Serbian’s removal and appealed for him to be allowed to stay out of immigration detention as the case proceeds.
‘We are very concerned about time,’ Mr Wood told the emergency hearing.
The Government told Djokovic’s lawyers it had no intention of detaining him on Friday night.
Australia has cancelled Novak Djokovic ‘s visa for a second time, the country’s immigration minister announced on Friday. Pictured: Djokovic rests during a training session at Melbourne Park on Friday
Pictured: A video on Friday evening showed a car – believed to be carrying Novak Djokovic – arriving at his lawyer’s officers ahead of the late night hearing being announced
Mr Morrison said on Friday his government cancelled Djokovic’s visa to protect Australia’s hard-won gains against the Covid-19 pandemic
Novak Djokovic is still hoping to chase his 10th Australian Open title in just three days time
The saga has intensified global debate over rights of choice for vaccines, raising questions over the Federal Government and Tennis Australia’s bungled handling of Djokovic’s visa.
It has also become a tricky issue for Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he campaigns for re-election.
Mr Morrison said on Friday his government cancelled Djokovic’s visa to protect Australia’s hard-won gains against the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected,’ Mr Morrison said in a statement.
‘I note the Minister for Immigration’s decision in relation to Mr Novak Djokovic’s visa.
‘I understand that following careful consideration, action has been taken by the Minister to cancel Mr Djokovic’s visa held on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.
‘This pandemic has been incredibly difficult for every Australian but we have stuck together and saved lives and livelihoods.’
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday.
‘Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,’ Hawke said in a statement.
‘This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds.
‘In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.
‘The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.’
Legal experts say it would be difficult – if not impossible – for Djokovic to successfully challenge a visa cancellation decision made personally by the Immigration Minister.
Protests have been predicted and the federal government can expect an international backlash in response to its decision, particularly from Serbia.
Djokovic stands at a booth of the Australian Border Force at Melbourne Airport on January 5
The tennis star, a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open with a medical exemption to requirements for visitors to be inoculated against COVID-19.
Australia has endured some of the world’s longest lockdowns, has a 90 percent vaccination rate among adults, and has seen a runaway Omicron outbreak bring nearly a million cases in the last two weeks.
Djokovic was facing mounting criticism for his actions, including from other tennis players set to take part in the Australian Open next week.
Greek world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas said Djokovic was ‘playing by his own rules’ and making vaccinated players ‘look like fools’.
‘No-one really thought they could come to Australia unvaccinated and not having to follow the protocols… it takes a lot of daring to do and putting the grand slam at risk, which I don’t think many players would do,’ Tsitsipas said in an interview with India’s WION news channel.
Reacting to the news, British tennis player and former world No. 1 Andy Murray said: ‘It’s unfortunate that it’s ended up in this sort of situation, and who knows?
‘I don’t know what route he goes down, if he can appeal that and, you know, how long that takes, and can he still be out practicing whilst that process is going on or still competing in the tournament?
‘Just want it to get resolved. I think it would be good for everyone if that was the case.
‘It just seems like it’s dragged on for quite a long time now, and yeah, not great for the tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak.’
Calls for Djokovic to be deported increased after inconsistencies emerged between his sworn evidence on immigration documents and social media posts.
The star flew into Melbourne airport on January 5 claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive PCR test result on December 16.
Border agents rejected his exemption, tore up his visa and placed him in a notorious Melbourne detention centre where he spent four nights.
The Federal Government insists a recent infection does not qualify as a vaccine exemption for foreign nationals trying to enter the country.
Djokovic’s top-flight legal team dramatically overturned the visa decision because border officials at the airport had failed to give him the agreed time to respond.
He was released, but has since admitted providing false information on his travel entry form, which incorrectly claimed he had not travelled in the 14 days before his arrival in Melbourne, despite visiting Spain.
Djokovic has also conceded he breached Serbia’s isolation rules after learning he had tested positive to the virus on December 16.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke (pictured) said Djokovic’s visa was cancelled ‘on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so’
The cancellation means Djokovic (pictured taking a rest during training on Friday) would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances
Djokovic said he had been interviewed in person by a French newspaper while infected with Covid, and blamed his agent for the ‘administrative error’ on his travel entry form.
The discrepancies emerged after Djokovic issued a lengthy Instagram statement on Wednesday to clarify ‘misinformation’ about his movements while positive with Covid.
‘I want to address the continuing misinformation about my activities and attendance at events in December in the lead-up to my positive Covid test result,’ it began.
‘I want to emphasise that I have tried very hard to ensure the safety of everyone and my compliance with testing obligations.’
Djokovic admitted doing a interview and photo shoot L’Equipe while infected with Covid as he had a long standing commitment to do so.
‘I cancelled all other events except for the L’Equipe interview,’ Djokovic said.
‘I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Équipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was taken.’
He also addressed the ‘human errors’ on his travel declaration which failed to declare that he had visited Spain in the 14 days before his arrival at Melbourne Airport.
‘This was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,’ Djokovic continued.
‘This was a human error and certainly not deliberate. We are living in challenging times in a global pandemic and sometimes these mistakes can occur.
‘Today, my team has provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this ‘matter.’
Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption to play in Melbourne by Tennis Australia.
He believed he had met criteria set by Australia’s advisory board on immunisation and been given a federal government declaration he could travel.
He took his case to the Federal Circuit Court where the federal government agreed to settle the case and Judge Anthony Kelly quashed the cancellation of Djokovic’s visa on Monday.
Judge Kelly found that tearing up Djokovic’s visa had been unreasonable and he had not been given enough time by Australian Border Force officials to respond to their concerns.
Having beaten the Minister for Home Affairs, Karen Andrews, Djokovic then had to contend with Mr Hawke, a close ally of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
‘Following today’s Federal Circuit and Family Court determination on a procedural ground, it remains within Immigration Minister Hawke’s discretion to consider cancelling Mr Djokovic’s visa,’ a spokesman for Mr Hawke had said on Monday night.
‘… The minister is currently considering the matter.’
Judge Kelly had said on Monday if the government intended to cancel Djokovic’s visa the Federal Circuit Court must be given ample notice to prepare for future proceedings.
The tennis star (pictured left and right with his wife Jelena in 2013), a vaccine sceptic, fuelled widespread anger in Australia when he announced last week he was heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open
In answer to the question: ‘Have you travelled, or will you travel, in the 14 days prior to your flight to Australia?’ whoever filled out Djokovic’s travel declaration form selected ‘no’. That means the 34-year-old tennis player would have needed to remain in the same country since December 21. But social media images appeared to show that he was in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 25 and then in Marbella, Spain, from December 31 until catching his flight to Australia, via Dubai, and landing in Melbourne on January 5
Mr Hawke had three options open to him.
He could have let Djokovic stay in Australia to compete in the Open, he could re-cancel his visa and ban the star from coming to Australia for three years, or he could cancel the visa but not impose a three-year ban.
Either of the second and third options was likely to lead to more legal action.
The Australia Open starts on January 17 when Djokovic wanted to launch his bid to become the most-decorated men’s singles player of all time.
Djokovic is currently level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 grand slam titles. Federer is out of this year’s tournament with injury, while Nadal will be playing.
