Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

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

362 replies

CaliforniaDrumming · 05/01/2022 16:10

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

OP posts:
mynameiscalypso · 06/01/2022 08:26

Leaving the vaccine aside, I do find Novak oddly fascinating. He cares so much about how people feel about him and yet seems totally blind to the impact of his behaviour and actions on how he has perceived. As for having a tournament without him, let's not forget that he was disqualified from the US Open a couple of years ago for hitting a line judge with a ball when he was pissed off about getting broken.

FazedNotPhased · 06/01/2022 08:26

@derxa

I love Djokovic. He doesn't want this bloody poison put in his arm
Ah balanced and rational as always, @derxa 😂
IntermittentParps · 06/01/2022 08:26

Of the best 4 players of his generation (federer, nadal and murray being the other three) he is by far and away the most unpopular. Which he hates! 😁 he really is a tosser.

Yes, and now that unpopularity seems vindicated! I've hated him for years. Arrogant twat.
Rafael Nadal's statement, on the other hand, is mature and sensible.

derxa · 06/01/2022 08:46

Oh, well. If you say so. (Get help!) Well today I'm off to the dermatology dept of my local hospital to start treatment for vaccine induced psoriasis. It's misery. I'm covered from head to foot in itchy plaques. I'm double vaxxed and my family have all had the booster. I'm cynical now to say the least. Why would a sportsman whose body is his means of earning a living risk damage?

milkyaqua · 06/01/2022 08:49

That's a shame. It doesn't make a life-saving vaccine 'poison'.

Cocogreen · 06/01/2022 08:50

@derxa

I love Djokovic. He doesn't want this bloody poison put in his arm
Absolutely fine, he can go on his merry way anywhere else that will have him , but we don't want him coming into our country without it. He's a spoiled rich athlete and someone's telling him no and he doesn't like it. My heart bleeds for him.
Mollysocks · 06/01/2022 08:50

@dinkydoodah

Arrogance personified
He is just one massive ego. I can’t stand the guy. Arrogant and a misogynist. I am not surprised by this news story at all.
BashStreetKid · 06/01/2022 08:53

@derxa

I love Djokovic. He doesn't want this bloody poison put in his arm
Do you have any idea how the vaccine works? What is the precise mechanism by which you claim it poisons people?

He doesn't want it in his arm, Australia doesn't want people who haven't had it in their country. All fine till he claims his wishes trump Australia's.

nojudgementhere · 06/01/2022 08:54

@derxa - That sounds really bad. I hope you feel better soon. Xx

derxa · 06/01/2022 08:57

[quote nojudgementhere]@derxa - That sounds really bad. I hope you feel better soon. Xx[/quote]
Thanks. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy

nojudgementhere · 06/01/2022 09:00

He doesn't want it in his arm, Australia doesn't want people who haven't had it in their country. All fine till he claims his wishes trump Australia's.

Not sure why you think you can speak for the whole of Australia @BashStreetKid! I would imagine there's more than one opinion among the population over there? It kind of reminds me a bit of the saying, 'Turkeys voting for Christmas' Many Australian's have been quite clear that they resent the way their government has treated them by imposing such irrational and draconian rules. Yet now they are clamouring for these rules to be imposed on somebody else. It's a little bit sad really.

BashStreetKid · 06/01/2022 09:06

Not sure why you think you can speak for the whole of Australia @BashStreetKid!

I don't. I'm simply referring to the stance the Australian government takes, which is a matter of record. If I said, for instance, that England had decided on a compulsory school age, no-one would seriously claim that I was alleging that each and every person in England had made that decision and agreed with it. It's normal use of language, get over it.

Grida · 06/01/2022 09:09

@tigger1001 I always thought the rules were wrong though. Of course people should have been allowed to see their dying relatives. Djokovic is a very visible example of why the rules are over the top. I think his anti vaccine stance is stupid but I would let him come and play tennis. He would be allowed to in most countries.

nojudgementhere · 06/01/2022 09:10

@BashStreetKid - Maybe just say Australian goverment next tme then? Otherwise it sounds a bit hyperbolic.

cherin · 06/01/2022 09:18

I think the underlying problem is not his stance against vaccine, but the fact that he has regularly underplayed the impact of covid and its risks- he has personally been responsible for organising a tennis tournament in the ex Yugoslavian countries where it was clear that none of the rules and recommendations for covid mitigation were respected, and this caused covid hotspots (I believe at a time where vaccines were either not available or not much diffused in the region). Him, family and others caught covid at the time, if I well remember? But more importantly this caused an increase of cases within the communities. He apologised for this, I understand some of his thinking behind it (having Croats and Serbians playing together is not actually a bad thing!) but it was a stupid idea and showed to the world that he didn’t believe the recommendations for public health protections would apply to him or to his world.

buffyajp · 06/01/2022 09:21

@nojudgementhere

He doesn't want it in his arm, Australia doesn't want people who haven't had it in their country. All fine till he claims his wishes trump Australia's.

Not sure why you think you can speak for the whole of Australia @BashStreetKid! I would imagine there's more than one opinion among the population over there? It kind of reminds me a bit of the saying, 'Turkeys voting for Christmas' Many Australian's have been quite clear that they resent the way their government has treated them by imposing such irrational and draconian rules. Yet now they are clamouring for these rules to be imposed on somebody else. It's a little bit sad really.

Same applies to you.
SquirrelG · 06/01/2022 09:21

I love Djokovic. He doesn't want this bloody poison put in his arm

That's his decision - but he has to abide by any rules regarding that decision.

SquirrelG · 06/01/2022 09:24

Why would a sportsman whose body is his means of earning a living risk damage?

Well he won't be earning much if he finds he can't play in tournaments will he?

tigger1001 · 06/01/2022 09:24

[quote Grida]@tigger1001 I always thought the rules were wrong though. Of course people should have been allowed to see their dying relatives. Djokovic is a very visible example of why the rules are over the top. I think his anti vaccine stance is stupid but I would let him come and play tennis. He would be allowed to in most countries.[/quote]
I don't think the rules are right either. But as a non Australian I don't get a say. I can either comply and be allowed to visit or I can not and stay away.

I totally understand why Australians are not happy for him to come to their country.

thewhatsit · 06/01/2022 09:52

I think this is all a completely farce.

He shouldn’t have been granted a bogus exemption in the first place (same rules should apply to us all). But then, having been granted, it to then change their minds because of the backlash is indefensible.

I think it’s appalling to hold him at the airport in this way. He wouldn’t have got on the plane if he’s not had his exemption and the visa, which they’re now saying were incorrect (so they shouldn’t have been issued then!!). Fault lies with the Australian authorities just as much, if not more so, than with Djokovic.

CloudPop · 06/01/2022 09:56

I do agree he should never have been granted the exemption in the first place, and this matter needs very swift resolution. Having been caught up in the hell that was UK hotel quarantine, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Eaglesqueak · 06/01/2022 09:59

Seems like he’s staying here for now. It’s in court on Monday morning, so no deportation until 4pm then anyway. I hope he loses. Arrogant twat.

ecceromani · 06/01/2022 10:14

My understanding, and I may have misunderstood this, is his exemption was granted by Tennis Australia to play in the tournament in Melbourne.
But that doesn't actually get him into Australia in the 1st place. He has to get through the border with same requirements and documentation as every other non Australian citizen

CloudPop · 06/01/2022 10:16

Arrogant twat

@Eaglesqueak totally agree.

EmmaH2022 · 06/01/2022 11:06

Thanks to those who answered my query

I have another....

who has to take a PCR by law? The stories about queues are shocking, is this true? I guess no one would stand in a queue for hours unless there was a legal reason they had to, like proof for working. People must be missing work to queue? I am so confused. It makes England look efficient (well, I have found it fine but I know some haven't).

www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/do-not-defecate-in-gardens-toilet-troubles-in-strained-testing-queues/news-story/da5f23dca8060b6c17fc535c59294a7d