Novak Djokovic's dad has ripped into the Australian government for deporting his son on the eve of the Australian Open beginning.
The Federal Court of Australia upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's decision to re-cancel the Serbian tennis star's visa on Sunday (January 16).
The government was concerned Novak's choice not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus would ramp up anti-vaxx sentiments in Australia.
They used this to justify cancelling his visa and cited 'health' and 'good order' under section 133C (3) of the Migration Act.
Novak's dad Srdjan is absolutely fuming about the whole situation and has conjured up some fairly extreme words.
In an Instagram post, the Djokovic patriarch reportedly said: "The assassination attempt on the best sportsman in the world is over, 50 bullets to Novak's chest. See you in Paris."
That's certainly vivid.
According to the ABC, Srdjan later distanced himself from those comments and said the words were from some of the tennis player's fans.
The Djokovic family issued another statement, saying: "We will be there to share the blows he received, to help him regain his energy, his faith in this sport, above all in fair play, which was completely absent here."
Novak's birth country of Serbia is also supremely furious at seeing their pride and joy booted from Australia in such spectacular fashion.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the male world number one has been dragged through the worst conditions.
"They think that they have by this, this mistreatment of 10 days, humiliated Djokovic, but they have humiliated themselves. Djokovic can return to his country with his head held high," Vucic explained to a Serbian state media outlet.
"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 welcome."
He's called Australia's treatment of Djokovic a 'political witch hunt' and remarked how Australia does not look good on the world stage now.
The Serbian Olympic Committee was just as scathing in their assessment of what has gone down.
"We are proud of Novak Djokovic and the way he coped with these extremely difficult and unpleasant circumstances," the committee said in a statement.
"Despite this scandalous decision, we believe Novak came out as the winner again."
The federal court decision came through on Sunday night and Novak was on a flight from Sydney to Dubai at 10:30pm.
He's now banned from coming to Australia for three years, however he could apply for an exemption if he wanted to play in next year's Australian Open and the federal government would assess his application.
Featured Image Credit: REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic
Topics: News, Novak Djokovic
