Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic lashed out at Australian authorities Sunday morning, hours after a federal court paved the way for the deportation of Novak Djokovic on the eve of the Australian Open over his vaccine status.
“They think that they have by this, this mis-treatment of ten days humiliated Djokovic, but they have humiliated themselves. Djokovic can return to his country with his head held high,” Vucic told a state media outlet.
Vucic has remained steadfast in his support for Djokovic throughout the drama, calling the earlier detention of the unvaccinated tennis star a “political witch hunt”.
Serbia’s president denounced Australia’s ‘scan-dalous’ ruling to deport Novak Djokovic over his decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the tennis star was always welcome to play in his homeland https://t.co/MK9hy8FYpe pic.twitter.com/yeKcAxBEmo
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2022 “I spoke earlier to Novak Djokovic after the decision and I encouraged him. We look forward to seeing him return to his country, where he is always wel-come,” the president added.
Earlier in Australia, Djokovic said he was “ex-tremely disappointed” by the federal court’s ruling that upheld the government’s right to rip up his visa over fears he is stoking anti-vaccine sentiment and dashed his dream of a record 21st Grand Slam
In Serbia, the ruling stoked outrage among Djokovic’s fans. “It’s a farce … All this has nothing to do with the sport,” Nebojsa Viskovic, a journalist covering notably tennis, told AFP.
“All the criticism about whether he was vacci-nated or not doesn’t hold water.” Also read: Djok-ovic loses fight against Australia deportation
Many other Serbs echoed the view. “The deci-sion is not a surprise but is still shameful,” said Jad-ranka Misic, a 29-year-old sociologist from Bel-grade.
For tennis fan Milovan Jankovic, Australia and the tournament itself had secured little more than a Pyrrhic victory. “It’s going to be ridiculous to hold the tournament without the defending champion and nine-time winner.
“If I were Djokovic I would never set foot in Australia again,” the 57-year-old salesman added. An “extremely disappointed” Djokovic said he would comply with the unanimous ruling.
The Serbian Olympic Committee also made their disgust clear as they sought to rally support for Djokovic.
“We are proud of Novak Djokovic and the way he coped with these extremely difficult and unpleas-ant circumstances. Despite this scandalous decision, we believe Novak came out as the winner again,” the committee said in a statement posted online.
Miomir Kecmanovic, who was set to face nine-time champion Djokovic in the first round of the Australian Open, called the incident a “bitter pill to swallow”.
“Our little Serbian team here in Melbourne is upset and disappointed and I think we have to make an extra effort to somehow avenge our best repre-sentative who was prevented from being here,” Kecmanovic wrote on Instagram.—AFP
