Concealing pre-entry itinerary? Xiaode apologized for "team negligence"

[Global Times reporter Li Jiayin] Although he won the visa hearing with the Australian side, the Australian Open journey of djokovic, the "first brother" of the tennis world, has made waves again.

"Djokovic is suspected of concealing information about himself before he arrived in Australia." Reuters said on the 12th that Xiaode had said that he had taken off from Spain and arrived in Australia on the 5th. In order to ensure that he had no travel history of other countries 14 days before departure, Xiaode needed to arrive in Spain on December 23, 2021. But two witnesses said they had seen Himde in Belgrade on or after December 24, 2021, and that a video of Himade had been taken on the 25th of that month. Before boarding a flight to Melbourne, Djokovic, like all travellers to Australia, is required to complete a form called "Australian Travel Statement". Xiaode's staff ticked "No travel history in [other countries] in the 14 days before flying to Australia". In Australia, providing false or misleading information in a form is an offence punishable by up to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine of AU$6,600 (about 30,000 RMB), and the offender's visa will be cancelled. On the 12th, Djokovic confessed on social media, "My staff sincerely apologized for his mistake, he mistakenly chose the option of the itinerary before I came to Australia, which is a man-made mistake, but not deliberately." My team has sent more information to the Australian Government to clarify the matter. ”

He also talked about his infection with the coronavirus: on December 14, 2021, he attended a basketball game in Belgrade. The competition was followed by a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and Xiaode completed a quick test on the 16th of the same month, and the results showed negative. Out of caution, he conducted another officially certified COVID-19 test on the same day. After the children's tennis awards event on the 17th, Xiaode received a positive result from the test. But he still accepted an interview with the French "Team Newspaper" on the 18th. In response, Xiaode explained that he "did not want to disappoint the reporter" and said that he has always maintained social distancing during the interview - except for shooting, he wears a mask at all times.

Djokovic's latest statement has triggered further fermentation of public opinion and dissatisfaction among the local population. "Do you think the federal government should try to deport Djokovic again?" 41,000 people voted on the Australian media network, and more than 81% of them voted in favor. Serbian Prime Minister Brnabic said in an interview with the BBC that "if Djokovic appears publicly after knowingly testing positive, it will be a clear violation." "According to the regulations, the maximum penalty for violations of Serbian health regulations is 3 years' imprisonment. The French newspaper The Team also responded to Djokovic's interview with the media: The reporter who conducted the interview was told not to ask Djokovic about his vaccinations and whether he would participate in the upcoming Australian Open.

As Djokovic's main rival, Nadal believes that "judicial decisions are the fairest solution". Becker, the former coach of Xiaode, stressed that "without immunity, Xiaode would not have come on a plane." Portugal's tennis player Sosa said it was "a bit selfish" to come to the Australian Open as the only unvaccinated player and that "it is difficult for us to accept that".