OUT! Novak Djokovic becomes target of mocking memes after his visa bid to remain in Australia is officially rejected
- Djokovic this morning had his visa cancelled and will be deported from Australia
- Government lawyers argued the tennis star had promoted anti-vaxx sentiment
- The culmination of the outrageous saga has already sparked strong reactions
- A fresh wave of memes gone viral in the wake of the Federal Court’s decision
- Some accused the government of using the tennis player as a political pawn to legitimise its extremely restrictive and unpopular coronavirus policies
- Others argued that Djokovic had simply broken the rules millions of Australians are forced to live by and should never have been allowed to stay
Novak Djokovic will be deported from Australia and will not take part in the Australian Open, marking the culmination of an outrageous saga that has plagued world tennis and ridiculed the Australian government.
After weeks of miscommunication between state and federal governments and divided public opinion, the federal court this morning upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel the tennis world number one’s visa.
As the final nail was hammered into the Djoker’s coffin, social media exploded with memes as people on both sides of the argument reacted to the conclusion of what has been a truly divisive debacle.
Some social media users took aim at the tennis star himself, declaring that the world-class athlete should not be exempt from the brutal coronavirus restrictions to which Australian citizens have been subjected.
The Serb has been branded a cheat, a liar and an anti-vaxxer by some who are glad to see him go.
Many others however have come out in support of Djokovic, hitting out instead at the Australian government who they have accused of political posturing and manipulation to suit their narrative in enforcing unpopular restrictions.
And there are plenty of users who have simply been poking fun at the whole situation.
Novak Djokovic will be deported from Australia and will not take part in the Australian Open after his lawyers failed to convince three senior judges of his right to stay in Melbourne (Djokovic pictured November 2021)
Djokovic was briefly permitted to leave his detention hotel to view the court case from his lawyer’s office earlier today, but will now be forced onto a plane and swiftly deported
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke – who is now being referred to as ‘Hawke-Eye’ – made a stunning executive decision to rip up the Serb’s visa on Friday, a move which was subsequently upheld by judges this morning
Rafael Nadal, who is tied with both Djokovic and Roger Federer for the men’s grand slam titles record, said the Australian Open will be great with or without Djokovic. Many believe Nadal has a great chance to take the lead at this year’s Open with the exit of Djokovic
Djokovic was held for 6 days last week at a migrant detention centre in Melbourne, and was subsequently being held under supervision in the Park Hotel
Some have accused the Australian government of using the tennis player as a political pawn to legitimise its extremely restrictive and unpopular coronavirus policies.
The unvaxxed tennis star, who was in possession of a medical exemption, was initially granted a visa and allowed into the country despite suspicions that his exemption and the details of his whereabouts in the weeks prior to the tournament were not legitimate.
But many argued that the world number one posed no danger, having recently recovered from Covid and therefore been imbued with natural immunity alongside his already elite level physical health.
Others meanwhile argued that Djokovic’s status as a world-class athlete on the cup of becoming the man with the most grand slam titles ever should not mean that he gets to bypass Australia’s exceptionally stringent coronavirus rules.
In the state of Victoria where the Australian Open takes place, Covid measures stipulate that only fully vaccinated people can attend most public venues, with the unvaccinated severely restricted from public life.
The federal court’s verdict this morning to uphold Hawke-Eye’s decision to tear up the world number one’s visa sent social media into raptures.
Many of the memes poked fun at the situation overall and did not take a specific side, while others made their allegiances clear.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both tied with Djokovic on 20 men’s grand slam titles
The fresh salvo of memes follows a torrent of internet fun and games early this week after the initial decision to invalidate the Serb’s visa was overruled.
Last week, Djokovic’s visa was revoked and he was transported to a ‘torturous’ migrant detention centre to await deportation after much miscommunication between state and federal government.
Then a judge in Victoria earlier this week overturned the government’s decision to rip up the tennis star’s visa.
‘Rules are rules,’ said Judge Anthony Kelly, upon ruling that border agents who gave Djokovic just 20 minutes to produce more documentation to support his visa at 4am had acted unreasonably.
‘Stated in other terms: those rules were not observed.’
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