MELBOURNE, Australia —
Australians reacted with fury on Wednesday after world number one
Novak Djokovic received a medical exemption from having a Covid vaccine in order to
play at this month's
Australian Open.
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Tournament chief Craig Tiley
said that the defending champion had been given "no special favor"
but urged the Serb to reveal why he got the exemption to soothe public anger.
All participants at the
first Grand Slam of 2022, which starts on January 17, must be vaccinated
against Covid-19 or have a medical exemption, which is granted only after
assessment by two panels of independent experts.
The nine-time Australian
Open champion announced late Tuesday he was en route to Melbourne with "an
exemption permission", ending the drawn-out saga over whether he would
defend his title.
But Stephen Parnis, a former
Australian Medical Association vice-president, said it sent an "appalling
message" to people trying to stop the spread of Covid-19.
"I don't care how good
a tennis player he is. If he's refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn't be
allowed in," Parnis said on Twitter.
Australian Prime Minster
Scott Morrison said that if the reasons for Djokovic's exemption were
"insufficient" then the Serb would be "on the next plane
home".
"We await
his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support (his
exemption)," Morrison told a press conference.
"If that evidence
is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and
will be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak
Djokovic at all. None whatsoever."
Former Australian ATP Tour
player Sam Groth, now a television commentator, said it was "a decision
that spits in the face of every Victorian and Australian" in a column in
Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper.
There was also outrage on
the streets of Melbourne.
"I think it's
disgusting. I think he should have made his mind up before now and it shouldn't
be a last-minute decision to get him in," resident Ron Wilson told AFP.
Other residents of the
Victoria state city were more sympathetic, with Morteza Yari saying: "I
think as long as the exemption is valid and they have valid reasons I don't see
a problem with that."
Among the conditions allowing
entry without a vaccine is if a person has had Covid-19 in the past six months.
It has not been revealed if that was the case with Djokovic.
'Sick hypocrisy'
Tiley said the two panels
assessed each exemption without knowing the identity of the applicant and he
did not know under what grounds Djokovic got the green light, which is
confidential.
"It will certainly be
helpful if Novak was to explain the conditions in which he sought and was
granted an exemption," Tiley told reporters, acknowledging the backlash.
"I would encourage him
to talk to the community about it... we have been through a very tough period
over the last two years and would appreciate some answers to that."
Groth agreed that Djokovic
should reveal why he has been allowed in.
"You're willing to say
you have an exemption but not willing to say why? It's sick hypocrisy. I
don't like it at all," Groth wrote.
However, Tiley defended the
integrity of the exemption application process, which is overseen by national
and Victorian state governments.
He revealed that only 26 of
the approximately 3,000 players and support staff travelling to Australia for
the tournament had applied for a vaccine exemption. Only a few of those had
been successful.
"Any person who met
those conditions has been allowed to come in. There's been no special favor.
There's been no special opportunity granted to Novak," Tiley said.
Melbourne and Sydney have
both endured months of restrictions and lockdowns over the past two years and
allowing Djokovic to travel was widely criticized.
"If this exemption is
true, it sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce #Covid19Aus risk
to themselves & others," added Parnis.
Djokovic voiced his
opposition to the
Covid-19 vaccine in April 2020 when it was suggested they
might be obligatory so tournament play could resume.
"Personally I am not
pro-vaccines," said Djokovic at the time. "I would not like it for
someone to compel me to be vaccinated so I can travel."
Some players expressed
surprise with the exemption, including British doubles player
Jamie Murray, who
said at the ATP Cup in Sydney: "I think if it was me that wasn't vaccinated,
I wouldn't be getting an exemption."
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