Tennis player Novak Djokovic allowed to play Australian Open by judge

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is allowed to leave his quarantine hotel and collect a visa. This was decided by an Australian judge. However, it is currently unclear if this also means that Djokovic can stay in Australia to play the Australian Open. After all, the government can still decide to fire Djokovic after all. Australia’s immigration minister reserves that right, says attorney Christopher Tran.

In any case, the judge overturned the current deportation order on the grounds that Novak Djokovic was told too late that the government would cancel his visa. “We all play by the same rules,” Judge Anthony Kelly said in his closing speech. “And they haven’t been noticed here.” That must be a pain for Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He had canceled Djokovic’s visa and said: “The rules are the rules.”

The Park Hotel, where tennis player Novak Djokovic stays, is not only a quarantine hotel, but also a detention center for asylum seekers. On one floor above Djokovic there are thirty asylum seekers who have been staying there for a long time. Someone recorded a video in his room saying that he supports the tennis player, but at the same time also draws attention to the difficult situation in which asylum seekers find themselves.