Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V

Louis said:
I think it's suspicious that that his visa was suddenly revoked after public outrage. If Australia granted him a visa, it should own the decision.
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Everything I've read suggests that the visa was rejected by border control because the documentation to back up the application did not add up. The most logical speculation in this thread is that Tennis Australia granted him a medical exemption from needing to be vaccinated to compete in the tournament which isn't the same as the entry requirements to enter Australia.

Like I said I think it's just bureaucracy and someone in his team should have done their homework, particularly if he doesn't qualify for any medical exemptions from being vaccinated he never should have travelled. If, however, he can prove that he has a medical exemption that is on Australia's entry requirements list then i'm sure he'll have no trouble getting the documentation and trying again.
 
Louis said:
I think it's suspicious that that his visa was suddenly revoked after public outrage. If Australia granted him a visa, it should own the decision. If Australians are upset about being locked up inhumanely, they should blame their own government.

Granted, I disagree with Novak's stance on vaccination, and I think he's stupid / arrogant for publicly bragging about a vaccine exception after publicly speaking out against vaccines. But to retaliate with government interference is just unbelievable and does not reflect well on Australia.

I'm curious for the specifics of this case, and if other players were allowed in with vaccine exemptions:watch:.
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No he f*cked up. His problem, not anyone else. His ego just came back to bite him on the butt.

Anyway I don't care if the government did it in response to the outcry. They do it for others who are deemed not of fit character to enter the country where there have been protests and objections.

Now poor little petal is in hotel quarantine not of his choosing. Which is what everyone else has to go through when they come into the country.
 
Louis said:
This reeks of political opportunism, and the Australian government looking to distract from its own failed policies.
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Aussie Willy said:
No people here are really pissed off that he was seen to be getting special treatment over the average person. The government has actually done what is right.
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I’m sorry but @Louis is on the money. The government has been under fire and extreme criticism for multiple policy failures and most recently unavailability and price of rapid antigen tests. This IS political, because as you said the national mood is anti Novak, and it’s trying to distract from what’s happening in the country and score political points.

But it’s also low hanging fruit because he doesn’t have the right evidence. So basically everyone could be right here.
miffy said:
I read he applied for the wrong visa. One that you couldn’t match with a medical exemption.

I have also read that 3 other people have been let in with the same medical exemption as Novak, but they had more documentation. So it sounds like they have let some others in and maybe his appeal would go through with better paperwork and the correct visa? :eek: I can’t imagine how unpopular that would be with locals now that this is so widely known.
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So from what I’ve learned in the last 18 hours or so - there is only one visa for players so he did apply for the right one. The issue is, he applied for his exemption to TA with a letter from his doctor which was accepted at face value, while border forces requires actual evidence (eg results from a lab). The exemption from TA isn’t sufficient to get into the country.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens. The hearing is on Monday. I did laugh though when I read an article on the BBC that says his compatriots view him as an underdog to the rich and powerful. He’s worth at least $200 million and has 4 barristers (including 2 x QCs) while the government has one junior barrister :lol:. 1 of his barristers is actually excellent (the other 3 aren’t well known in this area of law) so he’s got to have a decent shot.
 
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Aussie Willy said:
He is appealing to the federal court about his exemption. In the meantime he is stuck in hotel quarantine. And his family are saying he is being kept in captivity and treated appallingly.

www.sbs.com.au

More Australian Open arrivals probed as Novak Djokovic's family hits out over visa cancellation

Border officials are investigating two other people linked to the Australian Open who may have entered the country without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
www.sbs.com.au www.sbs.com.au
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I wonder what the 33 refugees who've been held in indefinite detention for anywhere up to 10 years, a full year of it in that same hotel, think about how he's being treated?

After all, he's got fancy lawyers and Daddy chucking tantrums in the international media on his behalf and will have his case heard stat. They barely get a mention on the news once in a while - for example, when there's a fire at the hotel.

At least some of the (very few) protesters who showed up to agitate for Djocovic got a short sharp lesson in reality from the regulars who attend to support the refugees.
 
The plot thickens - Renata Voracova’s visa has also been cancelled.

It is political in the sense that the government is absolutely seizing on public sentiment to try to score political points. And it’s an embarrassing shambles - the visas should have been refused rather than granted then cancelled. But if the players don’t have the requisite proof of the reason behind their exemption then…it’s on them ??‍♀️
 
Am I understanding correctly that Voracova was admitted into the country, played in practice matches, and now immigration officials have revoked the permission they granted and forcibly detained her?!? This is ridiculously heavy-handed and the type of stuff you'd see from communist regimes.

If this isn't overturned, I hope there are diplomatic sanctions against Australia. Get your house in order. Clarify your rules. Let people in or don't, but don't f--k around with them and send the secret police after them to score political points.
 
Louis said:
Am I understanding correctly that Voracova was admitted into the country, played in practice matches, and now immigration officials have revoked the permission they granted and forcibly detained her?!? This is ridiculously heavy-handed and the type of stuff you'd see from communist regimes.

If this isn't overturned, I hope there are diplomatic sanctions against Australia. Get your house in order. Clarify your rules. Let people in or don't, but don't f--k around with them and send the secret police after them to score political points.
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With more info being released all the facts clearly point to the Australian government acting in a way to take back treating foreigners better than Australians!
 
I am reading that the head of the French Open will allow unvaccinated players to compete. Does France not have a vaccination mandate for travel?
 
manhn said:
Does France not have a vaccination mandate for travel?
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In short, no. In more detail, depending on where you are travelling from, you may be required to prove you have an essential reason to travel if you are not vaccinated and from an amber/red list country. Unvaccinated arrivals from red list countries also have to self-isolate.
 
Louis said:
Am I understanding correctly that Voracova was admitted into the country, played in practice matches, and now immigration officials have revoked the permission they granted and forcibly detained her?!? This is ridiculously heavy-handed and the type of stuff you'd see from communist regimes.

If this isn't overturned, I hope there are diplomatic sanctions against Australia. Get your house in order. Clarify your rules. Let people in or don't, but don't f--k around with them and send the secret police after them to score political points.
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Okay, no. Every single visa holder in your country and mine is subject to conditions. If the government receives information that they’ve breached a condition or provided false information in order to obtain the visa, then the visa cancellation provisions are enlivened. The Home Office and successive US governments do far worse every single day so have a good look at your own back yard before you accuse us of communism or suggest sanctions :rolleyes:

The legal issue is whether the visa cancellation provisions were enlivened and whether they were exercised reasonably. None of us know what documents either player provided so it’s really impossible to know with certainty what’s going on. Should the visas have ever been granted? Probably not. Will they win their cases? Maybe. Is having an expedited case in 3 days by a neutral court a sign of a heavy handed communist regime? No.

By the way, they’re both free to leave the country. They’re only in immigration detention because they’ve chosen to remain without a visa and Novak actually agreed to pay for his detention in exchange for the government not opposing the injunction preventing him being removed from the country. Those orders are public so why the media hasn’t reported that, I don’t know.
 
*Jen* said:
Every single visa holder in your country and mine is subject to conditions. If the government receives information that they’ve breached a condition or provided false information in order to obtain the visa, then the visa cancellation provisions are enlivened.
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So what condition was breached, or what false information was provided? On the surface, this sure seems like someone changed their mind after public outrage, and someone else who complied with policy as written is being treated unfairly.

It's not that hard to create a vaccine policy. Mandate vaccines if that's what you want to do. Don't grant visas without proof of vaccine, or proof of an approved exemption. If Vorakova had to leave or get vaccinated by a certain date, then make that clear at the point of entry. It's really not that hard. Every other country in the world seems to be managing their borders without having to chase down and lock up tennis players. This is a complete shambles.
 
Louis said:
So what condition was breached, or what false information was provided? On the surface, this sure seems like someone changed their mind after public outrage, and someone else who complied with policy as written is being treated unfairly.

It's not that hard to create a vaccine policy. Mandate vaccines if that's what you want to do. Don't grant visas without proof of vaccine, or proof of an approved exemption. If Vorakova had to leave or get vaccinated by a certain date, then make that clear at the point of entry. It's really not that hard. Every other country in the world seems to be managing their borders without having to chase down and lock up tennis players. This is a complete shambles.
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I agree, it’s a complete shambles and the visas shouldn’t have been granted. It seems like they were granted automatically and the documentation checked later.

We don’t have the documents so we don’t know - but the requirement is evidence of a positive PCR test in the last 6 months and Novak allegedly only had a letter from his doctor (who is in his employ).

In terms of conditions - again, we don’t have that information but I looked at the migration regulations governing the type of visa he was granted and there is a condition that the visa holder “continue to meet” the criteria. If they asked for evidence of the exemption at the border and it wasn’t sufficient, then he didn’t “continue to meet” the criteria.

We’re all only speculating. It’s not being accurately reported in the media. I’d love to get my mitts on those legal docs but I can’t so we will have to wait and see how it plays out.

ETA - going in circles back to the fact that previous Covid infection isn’t enough for an exemption for visa purposes (just playing in the tournament) so if they ticked a box saying they had an exemption…that’s false info. I’m sure it was confusion and not intentionally false, but it looks increasingly like Tennis Australia caused the confusion with their more lentient requirements.
 
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From what I understand Djokovic and his camp did an online application. His application was not personally evaluated by a human. Which is standard practice for most applications visiting any country.
 
Aussie Willy said:
From what I understand Djokovic and his camp did an online application. His application was not personally evaluated by a human. Which is standard practice for most applications visiting any country.
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Not since C19, though much of it has been outsourced to the airlines (unfairly, IMO).

What about Voracova? I can't imagine she entered Australia using an e-gate (otherwise, Djokovic could have done the same thing). Someone must have physically examined her documents.
 
Canada vs Spain in the ATP Cup final tonight /tomorrow. Very unexpected considering the Canadian performance at the beginning of the tournament. Good thing Denis and Felix are used to playing doubles together or Russia would’ve walked with the semi-final win.
 
Novax's own social media might be what hangs him. He's claiming to have tested positive via PCR on December 16, yet there are images of him hugging children soon after, and his wife's social media shows him in a museum the very next day. If he had truly tested positive, he should not have been out and about...
 
misskarne said:
Novax's own social media might be what hangs him. He's claiming to have tested positive via PCR on December 16, yet there are images of him hugging children soon after, and his wife's social media shows him in a museum the very next day. If he had truly tested positive, he should not have been out and about...
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Also, his sole strategy relied on him getting it a month before the start of the AO?
 
Orm Irian said:
Meanwhile, Ash Barty just won the Adelaide International for the second time, in straight sets.

Just goes to show what you can do when you concentrate on playing tennis rather than grandstanding about vaccinations...
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He has 20 slams. I’m not saying he doesn’t care about tennis when he has 20 slams! It’s so easy to get a shot and I don’t understand why he won’t but the rules allowed for exceptions If you had it and now he’s had it twice so he qualifies for exceptions
 
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