Cricket legend says Novak Djokovic is owed apology for Australian deportation
Novak Djokovic on the way to court
Novak Djokovic’s deportation from Australia amid over his Covid vaccine status in 2022 is one of the biggest stories in the history of tennis and now the old wounds have been revived by cricket legend Kevin Pietersen.
Djokovic was deported from Australia in January 2022 after failing to overturn the decision to cancel his visa as he attempted to defend his title at the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.
The Serbian had the option of trying to take the legal fight further but said in a statement he would cooperate with the deportation despite being “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
The chaos created global headlines as the world grappled with the Covid-19 crisis and the emergence of vaccines, yet there has been a twist in the story over the last few days.
After more than three billion doses, the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being withdrawn, sparking a fresh debate over the impact it had.
The reputation of the AstraZeneca vaccine was dented as unusual blood clots emerged as a rare side effect of the vaccine, forcing the UK to turn to alternatives.
According to a BBC report, the vaccine “is estimated to have saved millions of lives during the pandemic, but also caused rare, and sometimes fatal, blood clots”.
Djokovic was widely criticised for his refusal to take a vaccine, as he insisted he would only put products into his body that he was comfortable with.
Now former England batsman Pietersen has suggested Djokovic has been proved right in his stance, after posting a tweet he later deleted.
“It’s time for every single person (who criticised) and the Australian government to issue an apology to Novak Djokovic now,” wrote Pietersen.
“I think that would be fitting as he went through HELL! It seems he was onto something…”
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Djokovic has spoken at length about his decision to refuse to take a Covid vaccine, with that decision affecting his career severely into 2023 as he was blocked from entering several tournaments due to travel vaccine mandates including the 2022 US Open.
“I have no regrets,” Djokovic told CNN last year. “I’ve learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past.
“I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment but of course think about the future, create a better future.
“At the same time, it’s the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won’t go to America.”
In an interview he gave to the BBC shortly after the Australian deportation, he outlined the reasons for his decision to decline the vaccine.
“I say that everybody has the right to choose or act or say or feel whatever is appropriate for them,” he stated.
“I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.
“I understand that there is a lot of criticism, and I understand that people come out with different theories on how lucky I was or how convenient it is.
“But no-one is lucky and convenient of getting Covid. Millions of people have and are still struggling with Covid around the world.
“So I take this very seriously, I really don’t like someone thinking I’ve mis-used something or in my own favour, in order to, you know, get a positive PCR test and eventually go to Australia.
“I was really sad and disappointed with the way it all ended for me in Australia. It wasn’t easy.
“I was not deported from Australia on the basis that I was not vaccinated, or I broke any rules or that I made an error in my visa declaration.
“The reason why I was deported from Australia was because the Minister for Immigration used his discretion to cancel my visa based on his perception that I might create some anti-vax sentiment in the country or in the city, which I completely disagree with.”