World tennis number one Novak Djokovic said in a statement posted on Instagram on Wednesday January 12 that he had committed a “Human error, certainly not deliberate” by wrongly stating, on arrival in Australia, that he had not traveled during the fourteen days preceding his flight.
The publication of this text comes as Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was considering canceling Novak Djokovic’s visa after controversy over the validity of a medical exemption to double vaccination – required to enter the Australian territory – presented by the Serbian tennis player upon his arrival in Melbourne.
“I would like to stress that I have done my best to ensure everyone’s safety and that I comply with the testing obligations”, explains Novak Djokovic in this text.
Regarding questions relating to his travel declaration to Australia, in which he was to indicate whether he had traveled within the fourteen days prior to his arrival in Australia, the player said that his agent accidentally checked the wrong box on the form. “This is a human error, which was certainly not deliberate, said Novak Djokovic. We are living in difficult times, a global pandemic, and sometimes mistakes can happen. “
“Error of judgment”
The short superstar also admitted in this press release a “Error of judgment” by receiving in person a journalist from the French daily The team and by participating in a photoshoot on December 18, 2021, a day after testing positive for Covid-19, but he claimed to have “Respected social distancing and wore a mask”.
However, he denied the information, reported by the media, according to which he knew he was infected while participating in an event in Belgrade the day before, during which he presented prizes to children. “I was asymptomatic and I felt good, and I only received the result of a PCR test which turned out positive after this event ended”, wrote the player, adding that the antigen test he had performed before the event was negative.
Novak Djokovic is in Melbourne competing in the Australian Open. He was refused entry into the country on Thursday, for lack of being able to provide proof of his vaccination against Covid-19.