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Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic lost his bid to avoid deportation from Australia on Sunday, with a Federal Court unanimously rejecting his appeal to stay in the country and defend his Australian Open title.
“The orders of the court are that the amended application be dismissed with costs”, Chief Justice James Allsop said.
The decision ends the unvaccinated Djokovic’s hopes of winning the Australian tournament and racking up a record-breaking 21 men’s Grand Slam titles.
Ruling on a case that has gripped Australia and the sporting world for more than a week, a three-judge bench of the Federal Court heard government lawyers arguments that Djokovic’s continued presence risked whipping up anti-vaccination sentiment during Australia’s worst outbreak of Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
A medical exemption that allowed the Serbian tennis world number one to enter the country without being vaccinated had sparked fury in Australia, and became a political issue for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has to call a federal election before May.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
Source : france24
