Djoker’s double fault: declaration wrong, rules breached

Novak Djokovic admits his Australian travel declaration ­contained false information, and he breached Serbian ­Covid restrictions.

Novak Djokovic during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open. Picture: AFP.

Tennis champion Novak Djokovic has admitted his travel declaration to enter Australia ­contained false information and he ­attended an event in his home country after testing positive for Covid-19, in breach of Serbian ­restrictions.

The federal government is ­reviewing new information provided by Djokovic’s team on Wednesday as Immigration Minister Alex Hawke considers whether to use his power to cancel the Serbian’s visa for a second time.

Djokovic conceded the information on his travel declaration form was incorrect after images of the nine-time Australian Open winner in Belgrade in the 14 days before he left Spain for Australia attracted intense scrutiny. He said on his declaration form that he had not travelled in the two weeks prior to arriving in Australia.

In an Instagram post, Djokovic said his agent had accidentally ticked the wrong box on the ­declaration form as he moved to address “misinformation” around the circumstances of his arrival to Australia.

“On the issue of my travel ­declaration, this was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,” Djokovic said.

“This was human error and certainly not deliberate.”

Djokovic also admitted attending an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe on December 18 knowing he had tested positive to Covid-19, which he said he now realised was an “error of judgment”.

“I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L’Equipe interview as I didn’t want to let the journalist down, but I did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken,” he said.

“While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error of judgment and I ­accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment.”

Before Djokovic issued his statement, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said it would be a “clear breach of rules” if the tennis star was out in public after testing positive.

Djokovic’s lawyers sent new documents to the federal government on Wednesday, delaying a possible decision by Mr Hawke to cancel the nine-time Australian Open champion’s visa for a second time after a court ruling on Monday cleared the way for him to be released from immigration detention. A spokesperson for Mr Hawke said Djokovic’s lawyers had recently provided “lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation” that was relevant to the possible cancellation of his visa.

“This will affect the timeframe.” the spokesperson said.

Novak Djokovic during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open at the Melbourne Park tennis centre in Melbourne. Picture: AFP.

Djokovic‘s positive Covid-19 result has also come under scrutiny after German news outlet Der Spiegel reported there were discrepancies between the time stamps on his test documents and when he claimed he received his PCR test result. The Australian understands the government is aware of the reports.

Djokovic arrived in Australia late on January 5 and was interrogated for about eight hours by Australian Border Force officials.

The federal government conceded the tennis champion had been denied procedural fairness and the Federal Circuit Court overturned the cancellation of his visa at the airport.

In his affidavit, Djokovic said he learned he tested positive on December 16 and attached a document issued by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia. But in the new statement, issued after photos emerged of the maskless sportsman at a children’s tennis event in Belgrade, Djokovic said he learned he tested positive on a PCR test later on December 17.

“The next day I attended a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children and took a rapid antigen test before going to the event and it was negative,” he said. “I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification of a positive PCR test result until after that event.”

Under Australian law, the penalty for giving false evidence is five years’ imprisonment.

Joined by his coach Goran Ivanisevic and other members of his team, Djokovic practised on Rod Laver arena on Wednesday afternoon for about one hour. The No. 1 seed trained on centre court in 30C heat, holding few rallies and taking regular breaks.

Members of the Serbian, Indian and Orthodox Christian communities and the music industry have sent letters to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke urging him not to cancel Djokovic’s visa. One of the organisations was the India-Australia Strategic Alliance, which chartered five flights to repatriate Australians from India when the federal government suspended travel there in a bid to halt a Delta outbreak.

Brag Media Group which represents Rolling Stone Australia, the Coptic Diocese of Melbourne and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Australia and New Zealand all sent letters to implore the government to allow the tennis star to play in the Australian Open, where he would seek to overtake Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the most prolific winner of grand slam titles.