The Observer
6 09.01.22 News
RIGHT
Djokovic
supporters
outside the
detention hotel
in Melbourne.
Diego Fedele/
Getty
Tumaini CarayolMelbourne
Outside a faceless hotel, sporting
stardom, politics and Covid collide
If it were not for the freshly plastered
graffi ti over its walls informing pas-
sers-by of the dozens of detained ref-
ugees inside, the Park hotel looks as
though it could be any regular build-
ing in Melbourne. It exists in a par-
ticularly pleasant part of the world,
just north of the city’s central busi-
ness district, right in the shadow of
the university and surrounded by a
parade of enticing Asian restaurants.
The building, meanwhile, is coloured
in nondescript shades of cream and
grey. In regular times, people rarely
look twice.
Since Novak Djokovic arrived in
Melbourne and was promptly ordered
by the Australian Border Force to
leave , before being whisked away to
the detention hotel as his lawyers
appealed against the cancellation of
his visa , the Park hotel has been at
the centre of one of the most absurd
sporting stories in recent memory. As
Djokovic’s fans gathered there, so too
did those campaigning for the free-Coronavirus
As Novak Djokovic
awaits his fate, an
unlikely mix of fans,
refugee campaigners
and media keep watch
dom of the refugees, some of whom
have been there for years.
Tomorrow , one way or another,
those sights will be no more.
Djokovic’s legal battle against his
deportation from Australia began on
Thursday as his lawyers secured an
interim injunction for him to remain
in the country until after his hear-
ing, which the government did not
oppose. That hearing begins tomor-
row at 10am.
Despite the spectacle, the facts are
simple. Upon Djokovic’s arrival on
Wednesday night, the border force
found that he was unable to prove
that he met Australia’s entry require-
ments, which require arrivals to be
vaccinated. As an unvaccinated trav-
eller, Djokovic had been granted a
medical exemption through a process
directed by Tennis Australia and the
state of Victoria in order to compete
in the Australian Open – but the fed-
eral government, and no other entity,
controls the country’s borders.Thus Djokovic’s legal team will
have to prove that the border force’s
decision to cancel his visa and
move to deport him was unlawful.
Yesterday court documents revealed
that Djokovic had sought his medi-
cal exemption after, his lawyers say,
he was infected with Covid-19 on 16
December. His lawyers also cite the
Australia Travel Declaration he sub-
mitted, and his medical exemption,
as indications that he was entitled to
enter Victoria.
Djokovic could win the case , allow-
ing him to compete ; he could lose itand be forced to depar t; or the case
could rumble on, with his presence
and freedom in Melbourne at the dis-
cretion of the judge.
The hearing itself is set to be a
spectacle: it will be held on Microsoft
Teams and be open to the public. The
federal court’s website has published
the link to tomorrow’s hearing, along
with the warning in bold letters: “It is
imperative that you keep your cam-
era and audio off as this can affect the
progress of the hearing.” In the wake
of so much public emotion, outrage
and attention, that may be the entire
goal for some.
From a sporting perspective, the
stakes are clear. Djokovic has already
fumbled one major championship
recently when he was defaulted from
the fourth round of the 2020 US Open
after accidentally hitting a lines-
woman with a ball. He does not want
to let another one slip away.
Even though he remains the dom-
inant player in men’s tennis, every
major tournament counts when you
are 34 years old. He had arrived in
Melbourne seeking a record-break-
ing 21st major singles title.
Should he lose the case, there are
further concerns. If the cancella-
tion of his visa is upheld, he could be
banned from re-entering the coun-
try for three years. It remains to be
seen whether he would even want to‘I’m disgusted that
it’s taken Djokovic
being put in here for
attention to come to
these refugees’
Asher, campaigner