Australian gov’t cancels Novak Djokovic’s visa for second time

BREAKING,

Australian gov’t cancels Djokovic’s visa for a second time, saying the unvaccinated tennis player may pose a risk to the community.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic faces deportation after Australian government revoked his visa for a second time.

The Australian government cancelled his visa on Friday, saying the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, unvaccinated for COVID-19, may pose a risk to the community.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel Djokovic’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation and released him from immigration detention on Monday.

“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.

The cancellation means Djokovic would be barred from a new Australian visa for three years, except under certain circumstances.

Djokovic’s lawyers are expected to appeal the cancellation in the Federal Circuit and Family Court as they successfully did after the first cancellation.

His exemption from a COVID-19 vaccination requirement to compete was approved by the Victoria state government and Tennis Australia, the tournament organiser. That apparently allowed him to receive a visa to travel.

But the Australian Border Force rejected the exemption and canceled his visa upon arrival in Melbourne.

He spent four nights in hotel detention before a judge on Monday overturned that decision.

On Thursday, Djokovic was been included in the Australian Open official draw despite the uncertainty over his visa status.

Djokovic also admitted knowing he had tested positive for COVID-19 when he attended a newspaper interview and photoshoot at his tennis centre in Serbia last month, admitting he made an “error of judgement” and should have immediately gone into isolation.

More to follow

Source: Thanks AlJazeera.com