Australia has cancelled Serbian Tennis ace Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time in a row over his right to remain in the country unvaccinated.
The decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke means that the 34-year-old tennis star will be deported.
However, Djokovic can still launch one more legal challenge to remain in the country.
The men’s tennis number one was scheduled to play in the Australian Open, which is set to begin on Monday.
“Today I exercised my power… 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,” the minister said in a statement.
The move also means Djokovic likely faces a three-year ban on obtaining a new Australian visa.
Djokovic’s visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after Australian border Force officials said he had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” to receive a vaccine exemption.
After a legal battle in Australia, the star player’s visa was reinstated by a judge, who ordered his release, ruling that border officials ignored correct procedure when he arrived.
But on Friday evening in Melbourne, Mr Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa under separate powers in Australia’s Migration Act.
As per details, the act allows him to deport anyone he deems a potential risk to “the health, safety or good order of the Australian community”, however Djokovic can still appeal this.
It comes after Djokovic addressed allegations that he had made a false declaration on his travel form which stated that he had not travelled in the 14 days prior to his arrival in Australia, when in fact he had been to Spain.
He said the mistake was made by his agent, calling it “human error” and adding that it was “not deliberate”.
He also admitted meeting a journalist and having a photoshoot after testing positive for Covid-19.
Earlier, a conversation between two Australian newsreaders on Novak Djokovic’s visa saga had gone viral, after a video of it was leaked online. In the video, the newsreaders can be heard talking against the tennis star while saying that “he’s going to get away with this”.
