Leading lawyer reveals loophole that could save Novak Djokovic

A leading lawyer says it’s likely Novak Djokovic will be allowed to play in the Australian Open - despite current attempts to deport him from the country.

There could still be hope for Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open campaign despite the sensational events of the past 48 hours, a leading lawyer has said, with a loophole likely to allow the Serbian tennis star to compete in the tournament.

The world number one spent Thursday night in immigration detention, after his visa was cancelled upon arrival in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

While the government agreed to postpone the 34-year-old’s deportation after a court hearing on Thursday, partner at Thomson Geer Lawyers, Justin Quill, said it wasn’t a particularly “significant” win for Djokovic’s camp.

The case was adjourned and will resume on Monday, and it’s expected the star will remain in immigration at Carlton’s Park Hotel.

“I think if they had have tried to deport him last night, the judge would have ruled in his favour. The judge was always going to give him or his lawyers at least the opportunity to make their case,” Mr Quill told 9’s Today show this morning.

“So, to be frank, it wasn’t a big win, but it’s a good step forward for him, although I’m not sure he will be enjoying his accommodation over the weekend.”

The “million dollar question” however, is how likely it is that Djokovic will still be allowed to compete in the Open, which kicks off on January 17.

Partner at Thomson Geer Lawyers, Justin Quill. Picture: Today

Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open campaign could go ahead. Picture: Paul Crock/AFP

According to Mr Quill, “there is a pretty good chance he will be playing at the Australian Open”, by being granted an interlocutory injunction, stopping the deportation so the case can be heard properly.

“I suspect what’s going to happen is – and I suspect not so much because he is going to win his case, but that it is going to be found that there needs [to be] more time, and he will be allowed to stay in the country, compete in the Australian Open, and then the lawyers will argue about this in the weeks and months to follow,” he explained.

“It will be a bit of an irrelevant case at that stage, but I suspect that’s probably where we are going to land with this.

“The imposition on Djokovic not being allowed to compete is arguably greater than the imposition on the Minister for Home Affairs. So, I suspect the court is going to land there and say, ‘I’m going to allow you to stay in the country while we sort this out over the following weeks and months’.”

The embattled star’s supporters converged on the hotel on Thursday, chanting for his freedom, waving Serbian flags and doing Serbian dancing.

There were similar scenes in Belgrade, where Djokovic’s fans and family members rallied in support of the vaccine-sceptic, and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic called for an end to the “political witch hunt”.

Djokovic is being held in immigration detention at the Park Hotel in Carlton. Picture: David Crosling

Srdan Djokovic addresses a rally in front of Serbia's National Assembly in Belgrade. Picture: Andrej Isakovic/AFP

“What is not fair-play is the political witch hunt (being conducted against Novak), by everybody, including the Australian Prime Minister pretending that the rules apply to all,” Mr Vucic told local media.

He said the Australian ambassador had been contacted twice by Serbian authorities and Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic would be in touch with a senior member of Australia’s Home Affairs department.

The Serbians will ask Australian authorities that at the very least Djokovic can stay, while his appeal is heard, in the house in Melbourne he had rented for the duration of the Open.

“I fear that this relentless political pursuit of Novak will continue until the moment they can prove something, because you cannot defeat somebody, then you turn to these type of things,” Mr Vucic said.

His father, Srdjan, meanwhile, declared his son was being kept “in captivity”.

“Morrison and his like have dared attack Novak to bring Serbia to its knees. Serbia has always shown that he comes from a proud nation,” Srdjan added.

“This has nothing to do with sports, this is a political agenda. Novak is the best player and the best athlete in the world, but several hundred million people from the West can’t stomach that.

“You, famous Prime Minister of the faraway naturally beautiful country, are behaving according to your own principles, which have nothing to do with us and our principles.”

But speaking about the debacle on Channel 9 this morning, Australia’s Finance Minister Simon Birmingham echoed Scott Morrison’s message that it was not politically motivated.

“Look, there’s clearly been a mistake in terms of what Novak Djokovic or his team understood in terms of the entry requirements, or indeed people have acted in misleading ways,” Mr Birmingham said.

“They are matters that frankly aren’t particularly relevant to the facts of the case, which are that the Government has always been clear around what is necessary in terms of the entry requirements into Australia.

“We made that clear to Tennis Australia. It’s been publicly clear for a long time, you’ve got to be double vaccinated if you are not an Australian citizen, to enter Australia if we’ve reopened the borders. These border controls have been incredibly important right throughout Covid in terms of protecting Australia.”