Djokovic gets medical exemption while Indian teen denied entry to Aus Open.

[CaliforniaDrumming]

Vaccine inequity in operation. Novak Djokovic gets a medical exemption from being vaxxed for the Australian Open, while a 17-yr-old Indian player is denied entry because India has not begun vaccinating the under 18.

gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/australian-open-indian-tennis-teen-slams-double-standards-on-djokovic-1.84772010

Stupid discriminatory rules...

Novaxx knew the rules of entry, and has been aware that travel may be a problem for him c/- his stance for a year at least, and still thought he could breeze in unvaccinated.

He's a competitive sports person who wants to win. Of course he is going to try and find a way in. It's the government who let him and then only backtracked when people, unsurprisingly, were pissed that they are subjected to these rules and the rich and famous aren't. This has been the case throughout the entire pandemic. Celebrities and rich people have been coming and going as they please while others couldn't even gold their newborn babies. But everyone is happy now that he's been made an example of and banished. Maybe they should be asking why they are subjected to these rules in the first place? And why they don't apply to certain classes of people?

*hold their newborn babies

Er, it was Border Force who cancelled his visa.

@IndigoC

Australians didn’t seem to be bothered when American celebrities were merrily skipping hotel quarantine last year (whilst I, an Australian citizen, couldn’t get in to visit my dying mother).

Australia is such an angry country these days. Always off on a new witch hunt.

Was just about to say that!! Mark Wahlberg ,the ultimate wanker, paid $400K to come to Byron Bsy last year when the borders were shut. And Nicole Kidman and her douchebag husband. Appalling.

@FromEden

I dont get why people are angry at Djokovic and not the pathetic Australian government for implementing stupid discrimatory rules but I guess this is just how the world is now. Rabble rabble so people don't ask questions

Exactly. Misguided anger!!

Don't forget Natalie Portman being able to fly her entire family in while others couldn't see each other for years. If it really was about health and safety, then none of that would be allowed. Australia is an authoritarian joke.

Melbourne girl here. I was furious he was granted an exemption. I still haven't been able to see my Dad because borders between our states have been closed for nearly 2 years. We suffered greatly during our long, strict lockdowns. We accepted it because we were all in the same position and thought what we were doing was for the greater good. But to then see someone as arrogant as Djokovic be granted an exemption when so many of my Aussie friends and family couldn't get exemptions to come home for genuine compassionate reasons, was a kick in the teeth.

I would never expect to travel to another country that was not my home country, kick up a fuss about their rules and then gloat if I got special treatment.

As it turns out, he had applied for the wrong visa and the government has refused to step in which I think is the right decision. There would be uproar. I personally wouldn't have a problem with him coming and quarantining like last year, but I do not accept that people like him should have special treatment.

@IndigoC

Australians didn’t seem to be bothered when American celebrities were merrily skipping hotel quarantine last year (whilst I, an Australian citizen, couldn’t get in to visit my dying mother).

Australia is such an angry country these days. Always off on a new witch hunt.

Plenty of us did feel very angry about that. But overwhelming lot I think people were so caught up in their own suffering or worries that as long as decisions didn't affect their personal safety or make lockdowns drag on longer, they didn't pay too much attention.

There is definitely a lot of anger here. We are tired, fed up with our useless politicians, and in many cases, still separated from our loved ones.

@CaliforniaDrumming

Hopefully. That seems a mess up by his support team but I gather the decision to exempt is unpopular anyway.

Very unpopular !! I'm in Oz and the general feeling is "Bye Novak ! Don't let the door hit you on the way out ! " Australians really dislike entitled people getting a free pass because they are rich . He won't be missed.

Something is off about this, or the reporting of it
Applied for the wrong visa - is that likely?
Others saying two medical boards approved the exemption. I wonder who is correct.

You can get a visa but the Government has the right to refuse entry if the papers you produce to affirm proof that your visa was correct do not add up. Novak had an exemption from tennis australia to play tennis, but they don't decide who can come in. Tennis Australia were told at least twice that their rules for exemption do not extend to non-residents and non-citizens.

@FromEden

Don't forget Natalie Portman being able to fly her entire family in while others couldn't see each other for years. If it really was about health and safety, then none of that would be allowed. Australia is an authoritarian joke.

I thought that many Australians absolutely were furious about all those Hollywood stars relocating to Australia when their own citizens weren't able to get home for months.

I don't feel remotely sorry for Djokovic. Just another wanker who thinks the rules don't apply to him because he's so speshul.

No one has to have the vaccine. But the rules shouldn't be changed to accommodate those who don't want it. It's an absolute insult to those Australians who've had to follow extremely tight controls for so long if they now allow him in.

Of course

That was to Cocogreen:
Scotty from Marketing.
Josh from Accounts

It's been one of those days

As for following ‘Australian’ border rules, it’s an international tournament FFS.

Which is being held in Australia FFS, so their border rules apply!

@JambalayaOrGumbo
How crazy is the vibe here at the moment??
In Melbourne and the Novax and Scotty memes have me crying with laughter.
Daughter ( a nurse) just rang, been in a crisis Zoom. The hospitals are melting down - don't get sick!!

It’s crazy. Melbourne people have had it so tough and I really feel for them. In Adelaide it’s really starting to ramp up.
And I wish I was clever enough to come up with some of those memes

[quote Cocogreen]@JambalayaOrGumbo
How crazy is the vibe here at the moment??
In Melbourne and the Novax and Scotty memes have me crying with laughter.
Daughter ( a nurse) just rang, been in a crisis Zoom. The hospitals are melting down - don't get sick!![/quote]
Is that because of testing? I'm in the UK so it's interesting to hear from posters rather than headlines.

@EmmaH2022 hospitals are filling up with covid patients. Testing system has fallen to pieces - to get a PCR you need to start queueing at 4.00am in some places. RATS are expensive and there are none available.

As an Australian I laughed when I heard this this morning. Serves him right.

@EmmaH2022 Son queued for a couple of days before he managed to get a PCR after close contact with a positive on Dec 30, has been isolating here from us for 6 days ( we have a big house so this is possible). Day 4 and still no test result.
Honestly the tennis stuff is a welcome distraction from the Federal government shitshow. I can't believe Tennis Australia let it get this far. Arrogance personified.

It continues....

Djokovic's lawyers appeal the cancellation of visa to the Federal Circuit Court. If the Court doesn't make a decision before the Australian Open, it may be cancelled.

I wouldn't want to be in Djokovic's skin at all. If the Court falls in his favour, he'll face the Melbourne crowd. If the Open cancels, he'll face the Melbourn crowd next year - they won't forget.

If a decision is made against him and he leaves, Melbourne still won't forget. They will be waiting for him next year.

Scomo is an arsehole but few things make Australians so angry than a foreign multimillionaire anti vaxxer trying to openly bypass Australian laws or challenge them in Court because he wants to win another title.

What I hate the most about this saga is that yet again, a f*ng incompetent PM looks the saviour of fairness for all.

BTW, I live in Sydney but I LOVE Melbourne

@EmmaH2022 It really is a shitshow here in Australia - people queuing for 18hours to get a test and then waiting a week for a result. RAT's are impossible to find and when you do, they've jacked up the price and someone's making a profit .

I'm in Adelaide, but others are in Sydney, Melbourne (the most locked-down city in the WORLD) etc, so I can really sympathise with them when many haven't been able to see their family/friends for over a year (me included - I have family in Melbourne).

That Djokovic assumed he was able to bypass the system is a joke - he hits a ball ffs. If he had the correct paperwork and wasn't being a knob, he would have been admitted - but people haven't been able to come home to spend time with dying loved ones, so I understand their anger.