BREAKING: Novak Djokovic’s Visa Gets Canceled by Australian Border Force Following Erroneous Application

There are a lot of tournaments going on in Australia at the moment but none comes close to the intrigue fans got to see over the past few hours with world no.1 Novak Djokovic being stranded in the airport upon his arrival to the land down under.

After hours of questioning, officials revealed that the Serbian’s visa was cancelled and that he had to take a flight out of Australia by Thursday night.

Djokovic’s visa was cancelled by the Australian authorities

“Rules are rules and there are no special cases. I want to thank the boarder officers for doing their job”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

In the latest news, Djokovic and his team of lawyers were said to have left the airport at around 10 am and the Serbian star could have been placed in immigration detention as his lawyers appeal the cancellation.

Tennis – ATP Finals – Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy – November 15, 2021 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his group stage match against Norway’s Casper Ruud REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

As soon as Djokovic announced his decision to fly to Australia on social media, there was immense backlash from the Australian public as they were not pleased with the decision. It’s important to note that Novak was not the only person to have been exempted.

Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley revealed on Wednesday that a total of 26 people had requested for an exemption and a few of the applications got approved. Those who got the exemptions are already in Australia, preparing for ‘the happy slam’.

Novak Djokovic failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove his claim

According to the Australian news daily ‘The Age’, a senior federal source revealed that Novak failed to provide sufficient proof to convince the authorities.

“A travel exemption from the ABF(Australian Border Force) was not requested and the Commonwealth was not engaged. Novak did not provide any proof to validate his claims. This proof could not be verified by ABF until Novak arrived in Australia at the border”. 

Tennis – Davis Cup Finals – Group F – Serbia v Austria – Olympiahalle, Innsbruck, Austria – November 26, 2021 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his match against Austria’s Dennis Novak REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Several journalists have reported that even though Djokovic’s lawyers are going to attempt to overturn the decision, it’s highly unlikely that the Serbian star will make it to the Australian Open.

All things aside, the past few hours have been tumultuous for the world no.1 and irrespective of the outcome, it’s important to note that Novak Djokovic is not the only player that was given the ‘exemption permission’ by the government of Australia.

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