Djokovic's "visa storm" is still inconclusive Different voices appear in Australia

CANBERRA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- After the Australian federal government revoked Djokovic's visa for the second time this month, the lawyer team of the world tennis men's singles "brother" will face the Australian government again.

This makes the Australian Open, which starts two days later, focus not only on the game itself, but also on the hot topic of whether the Serbian star, who has been listed as the top seed, can play as scheduled.

At present, the latest development of this storm is that the Australian court will hear Djokovic's appeal against the Australian government's second revocation of his visa on the 16th day before the start of the Australian Open. In addition, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that Djokovic returned to the designated hotel of the relevant departments in Australia on the 15th after winning the first lawsuit and preparing for the Australian Open in Melbourne for a few days.

On the evening of the 14th, Australian Immigration Minister Hawke announced that he had revoked the visa of the Australian Open "nine champions" "on the grounds of health and good order". Previously, the Australian court made a ruling on the 10th, overturning the decision of the relevant departments of the Australian government to revoke the Djokovic Australian visa.

One reason for the turmoil in this matter was that Djokovic applied for a medical exemption to allow him to enter Australia without being vaccinated against COVID-19 on the grounds that he tested positive for COVID-19 on 16 December 2021 and has recovered. In response, the Australian Tennis Association medical officer approved his exemption, and he was also prompted by the Australian travel declaration website to enter Melbourne. However, when he arrived in Melbourne on January 5, he was blocked from entering the country by the Australian border department, his visa was revoked, and the Australian government made it clear that it did not meet the entry requirements of Australia.

Around the "visa storm", there have been different voices in Australia recently.

On the one hand, it does not endorse Dzhukovic's approach. Australian media said that Hawke's reason for revoking his visa was that The appearance of Djokovic's non-vaccination in Australia may lead to an increase in anti-vaccine sentiment in some communities in the country, which will bring negative consequences that are not conducive to responding to the epidemic. But Jokovic's team of lawyers responded that the immigration minister had not taken into account that the detention and forced departure that Djokovic was facing could also fuel the sentiment and that the minister had no evidence to support his conclusions.

Other analysts, players and Australian media said That Dzhukovic could have avoided the storm when the vast majority of Australian Open players could comply with vaccination entry requirements. According to Australian media statistics, from the outbreak of the epidemic in Australia in 2020 to October 2021, the cumulative "lockdown" in Melbourne, where the Australian Open was held, exceeded 260 days, the longest in the world. In the face of the Australian people who have made great efforts to fight the epidemic, Dzhukovic, as a public figure, should not be suspected of "engaging in special", otherwise it will cause public dissatisfaction.

Another voice is that the Australian government's approach has other intentions. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on social media on the evening of the 14th that the Australian government's practice of issuing visas to Djokovic at the beginning was debatable, and now with his "struggle", the front-page news of the major platforms of Australian media has been successfully transformed from the shortage of rapid antigen test kits, insufficient vaccine enhancement needle reserves, empty shelves, etc., into Djokovic's visa problem.

Australia's veteran sports journalist Tracey Holmes said in a column that the storm has led to a precarious situation not only for Djokovic's visa, but also for the position of Australian sports in the world. "Athletes can no longer believe without question that Australia is a friendly, safe destination. In the future, Australia's bid to host major sporting events will have to be debated fiercely to persuade the relevant institutions. She wrote. (End)