Djokovic's Australian Open 10 crown road is in vain?
A tennis legend who has won the men's singles championship at the Australian Open 9 times is actually going to be repatriated by Australia, and even in the next three years, he will not be able to enter Australia to compete... This is the trouble that is happening to Djokovic right now.
The Serbian king, who is preparing to start the Australian Open's 10 crown journey, has been revoked by the Australian government because he has not been vaccinated against the new crown, and has been stranded at Melbourne Airport for several hours.
Embarrassingly, just a day ago, the Australian Open officials announced that Deyo's application for exemption from the new crown vaccine was approved by medical experts, but a day later, Deyo was kicked out of the country.
Behind the reversal of the situation is the lack of coordination between various departments, but also the "hostility" of Australians to Djokovic - at the moment of the outbreak of the local epidemic, Deyo, who insisted on rejecting vaccines, became a "public enemy".
Djokovic is the absolute hegemon of the Australian Open.
In one day, from the approval of the exemption to the closed door
Who will spend the 2022 Australian Open title? Djokovic is naturally the biggest favourite.
He has previously lifted the men's singles championship trophy here 9 times, and is about to impact the great cause of the 10 australian open titles, but such expectations have suddenly encountered twists and turns because of off-court problems.
In fact, as the Australian Open approaches day by day, whether Djokovic will not be able to participate because he has not been vaccinated is the focus of attention - Djokovic has always refused to disclose his vaccination status, and judging from his previous opposition to vaccines, he has not been vaccinated.
As early as 2021, the Victorian government of Melbourne, where the Australian Open is held, announced that athletes who have not completed the full vaccination of the new crown vaccine cannot participate in major sports events, including the 2022 Australian Open. As a result, Deyo had to choose between a vaccine and a contest.
But on Jan. 4, Djokovic appeared to have taken a reassuring pill – the Australian Open official said Deyo's application for a COVID-19 vaccine exemption had been evaluated by two independent medical expert groups, one of which was designated by the Victorian Department of Health. The application was approved so that Deyo could participate in the 2022 Australian Open.
But a day later, when Deyo arrived at Australian Customs by plane, the situation suddenly changed.
According to foreign media reports such as the BBC, the information about the visa applied for by the Djokovic team was not enough to allow it to obtain a vaccine exemption, so the team owners were finally cancelled and asked to leave Australia after several hours of detention at customs.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said: "Whether or not to appeal this will be his (Deyo)'s decision, but if someone's visa is cancelled, they will have to leave Australia. ”
Serbian fans waved the flag in support of Djokovic at Melbourne Airport.
Why is Australia "going against the grain"?
With the official permission of the Australian Open, why can't Djokovic pass the customs clearance?
The specific process has not yet been disclosed, but it is certain that there must be problems in the communication and coordination with government departments on the Australian Open.
Previously, according to the Australian Open event director Craig Tailey, a total of 26 athletes applied for the COVID-19 vaccine exemption, and only a few people were approved in compliance with relevant federal regulations, but at least from djokovic's case, it was still not fully compliant.
According to CNN, the conditions for obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine exemption under the current rules in Australia are quite limited, including: having an acute major medical condition (such as undergoing a major surgery or hospitalization for a serious illness); experiencing serious adverse reactions after the previous dose of vaccination; and risks associated with the vaccination procedure for other physical or psychological reasons.
In addition, people diagnosed with COVID-19 can postpone vaccination for up to 6 months, and those who receive monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 infection can also be exempted.
Previously, in June 2020, Djokovic had been infected with the new crown virus, but there was no news of re-infection since then, and the Australian Open and Djokovic did not disclose exactly what conditions Djokovic had obtained the vaccine exemption.
"Whether or not to talk to the outside world about his condition and the reasons for his exemption depends on Deyo's own choice." This is the statement given by Australian Open director Terry. However, further answers remain to be answered as to whether Deyo's refusal to enter the country did not comply with the exemption rules or whether there were problems with the documentation process.
Deyo held his own game in 2020, and the result was a collective infection.
Enemy of the nation?
According to Serbian media reports, because the visa was revoked, according to Australian law , Djokovic cannot travel to Australia for the next three years to participate in the Australian Open.
But no matter what the future holds, this "vaccine exemption storm" has made Djokovic the "public enemy" of Australia and even the entire tennis world.
In fact, after the news of Deyo's exemption from vaccines was announced, it was met with a large number of Protests from the Australian People, and some people called for a "boycott of the Australian Open".
It is not difficult to understand such a fierce opposition – in order to fight the epidemic, Australian cities have been "closed" many times, but the recent outbreak in Australia has risen again, with more than 60,000 new confirmed cases in a single day, setting a new record for the country. Against this backdrop, tolerating a sports star who refuses to be vaccinated with a waiver of entry is difficult for many Australians to accept.
"Personally, I don't want to be vaccinated or forced to get vaccinated for travel." This is Deyo's previous remark, in his opinion, "This is a private decision, and I don't want to get into the game of pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine." ”
But the fact that the vaccine was waived inevitably brought it under much criticism. A local Melbourne resident said in an interview: "I think it's a shame. We were all doing the right thing, and all of a sudden he was exempt from playing. ”
Similar dissatisfaction exists among tennis peers. Australian player De Minar described it as "interesting", while British player Jamie Murray said directly: "I don't think if I don't get vaccinated, I don't get an exemption." ”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said no one could be above the rules.
Prime Minister and President "Firefight"
At present, deyo's entry storm seems to have a tendency to further escalate.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison posted on social media: "Rules are rules, and no one can be above the rules." ”
Subsequently, Serbian President Vucic also issued a statement through the Internet: "The whole of Serbia is with Djokovic, and our authorities are taking all measures to stop this harassment of the world's number one player in the shortest possible time." ”
How the incident will eventually be resolved is difficult to determine at the moment. Compared with the tennis tournament itself, the direction of this event may have reached the diplomatic level.