It's official... Novak Djokovic will not be given an opportunity to compete at the 2022 Australian Open.
A three-judge Federal Court has upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's decision to cancel the Serbian tennis star's visa.
Chief Justice James Allsop said the panel had unanimously decided to dismiss Djokovic's appeal and the men's world number one will be made to bear the costs of the hearing.
Djokovic Releases Statement
Shortly after the Court verdict, Djokovic released a statement saying he was 'extremely disappointed' with the ruling.
"I would like to make a brief statement to address the outcomes of today’s Court hearing. I will now be taking some time to rest and to recuperate, before making any further comments beyond this.
"I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister’s decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.
"I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country.
"I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love. I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament.
"Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, team, supporters, fans and my fellow Serbians for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength to me," he said.
Visa Rejected Twice Within Seven Days
Djokovic had his visa cancelled for a second time, by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on Friday, 14 January, who exercised his powers to cancel the Serb's document on the ground that his presence in the country might incite anti-vaccination sentiment.
Djokovic, who is not vaccinated and entered the country on a medical exemption stating he had tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 December, first had his visa cancelled upon his arrival in Australia on 5 January. However, following a five-day court procedure, his visa was reinstated on 11 January.
The 34-year-old Djokovic, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, had earlier this week won the legal battle in his bid to remain in Australia, with a court ordering his immediate release from immigration detention. However, lawyers for the federal government had told the court that the country's immigration minister was reserving the right to exercise his personal powers to again revoke Djokovic's visa.
Hawke used his discretionary powers on Friday to cancel the visa given to Djokovic, who has not declared his COVID-19 vaccination status despite a groundswell of demand for him to take the jab in the interest of public safety and his own health.
In a statement issued on Friday, Hawke said, "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.
"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.
Djokovic had sought medical exemption on the ground that he had tested COVID-positive recently (16 December), and so should be allowed to play in the opening Grand Slam of the year. Reports soon emerged that he had tested positive for the virus on December 18 and had given an interview to L'Equipe knowing well that he had COVID-19.
Djokovic, a strong opponent of COVID-19 vaccination, then issued a clarification on social media, saying, he wanted to address the "continuing misinformation" about his activities and attendance at events in December in the lead up to his positive PCR COVID test result.
"This is misinformation which needs to be corrected, particularly in the interest of alleviating broader concern in the community about my presence in Australia, and to address matters which are very hurtful and concerning to my family. I want to emphasise that I have tried very hard to ensure the safety of everyone and my compliance with the testing obligations.
Djokovic admitted he knew he was positive before his interview to L'Equipe on December 18 but did it because of commitment, apologising for the "error of judgement".
"I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L'Equipe interview as I didn't want to let the journalist down but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask exempt when my photograph was being taken… this was an error in judgment and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment."
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