Lawyers trying to deport Novak Djokovic claim he was not given any guarantees that a medical exemption would allow him to enter Australia.
Djokovic, 34, is also unvaccinated, according to the Australian government’s court filing.
Non-dual vaccinated foreigners are prohibited from entering Australia under the Covid border restrictions, unless they have a medical exception.
Djokovic’s lawyers contend that a recent sickness qualifies him for an exemption.
Last Monday, the Serbian tennis player arrived in Melbourne in the hopes of defending his Australian Open championship.
Instead, he’s been detained in an immigration detention center as his attorneys prepare to file an appeal against Australia’s federal government’s decision to terminate his visa.
On Monday, the matter will be heard by a judge. Tennis Australia has stated that it needs to know if he would be permitted to participate by Tuesday in order to organize his matches for the event, which starts on January 17th.
Djokovic’s attorneys filed a 35-page paper on Saturday, claiming that their client met the requirements for a vaccination exemption certificate due to a recent Covid infection that was validated by a PCR test on December 16.
But in Sunday’s court filing, lawyers for Australia’s home office dismissed this as a valid reason.
“There is no suggestion that the applicant had ‘acute major medical illness’ in December 2021. All he has said is that he tested positive for COVID-19. This is not the same,” it said, adding there was “no such thing as an assurance of entry by a non-citizen into Australia”.
It also said that “it is common ground” between the two parties that “the applicant is unvaccinated”.