Turns out ‘No-vaxx’ Djokovic is not so ‘special’

The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth by the anti-vaxxers and the “fighters for freedom” against the “new world order” has reached a crescendo with the effective deportation of Novak Djokovic from Australia.

Although the Serbian tennis Number One was earlier given a reprieve by an Australian judge, who said immigration procedure had not been correctly followed when his visa was first revoked, the federal appeal court sided with the immigration minister’s decision to use his executive power to cancel the visa.

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In argument, the Australian government said that Djokovic’s refusal to get vaccinated, two years into the pandemic, indicated his clear anti-vaccine stance.

At the same time, the country has made it clear that it will push vaccines as a way back to normality.

The tennis player refused to give evidence at the appeal, and the government noted: “He could set the record straight if it needed correcting. He has not – that has important consequences.”

It certainly seems that something was not right with both his application for vaccination exemption and the way he conducted himself before travelling to Australia.

He went to a number of public engagements after testing positive for Covid in December, in contravention of his own country’s quarantine rules.

He also went to Spain, a trip he failed to declare on his immigration form… although he apologised for both “errors”.

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From a legal perspective, the Australian government is merely enforcing its immigration policies and underlining the fact that no-one should, or will, get special treatment.

One of his main rivals, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who has been vaccinated, summed it up neatly: “What we are facing worldwide is much, much more important than tennis and tennis players – millions of people have already passed away and a lot of families are suffering the consequences of this terrible pandemic.”