Novak Djokovic has won his appeal against the Australian government's decision to cancel his visa 🎾🇷🇸
But how exactly did the Serb manage to stop his deportation? We took a look at the key issue the judge's decision hinged on 👇
The Serb’s visa was cancelled by the government upon arrival for this month’s Australian Open, after determining that the player’s recent Covid-19 infection did not sufficiently meet the requirements for him to be allowed to enter the country unvaccinated 💉
Djokovic spent the weekend in a hotel for visa detainees, while his lawyers put together a legal case designed to overturn the ruling and allow him to compete in the tournament which he has won on nine previous occasions.
So how did the legal case succeed in the end? 🤔
In transcripts of his meeting with Australian border force officials, Djokovic admits to being unvaccinated and says he has tested positive for Covid-19 twice, in June 2020 and December 2021 ➕
At 4am, Djokovic was then told his visa may be cancelled in twenty minutes’ time, and instructed to prepare arguments against its cancellation.
‘So you’re giving me legally 20 minutes to try to provide additional information that I don’t have?’, Djokovic replied. ‘At 4am?'
Judge Anthony Kelly declared that the government’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa was ‘unreasonable’ on the grounds that he had not been given time to speak with his lawyers or representatives from Tennis Australia after being detained, and overturned the cancellation 👩⚖️
That means that the judge’s call hinged on a technicality, concerning the way in which the border force implemented the rules, rather than an outright declaration that Djokovic should have been completely free to enter the country all along 🇦🇺
Now the ball is in the court of Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, who must decide whether to personally intervene and cancel Djokovic’s visa himself 💼
You can read all the details of every twist and turn in this dramatic story here 👇
metro.co.uk/2022/01/10/how…
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