Novak Djokovic I travel to Australia with a green light, but when he got to the airport in Melbourne found it in red. What happened between the first traffic lights and the second is what explains the kafkaesque situation which the number one tennis player is facing, and which has gone beyond the sporting sphere to become an international conflict. The green light came with a medical exemption, managed through Open de Australia, which was approved with the approval of two independent medical panels. That is to say: Djokovic did not break any rule, flew with a legal permit to compete in the tournament. The exemption was the only valid alternative to not getting vaccinated and was granted to six players, not just Serbian. His surprise was that, when he got to Down Under, he was locked in a room by the customs authority for hours, held incommunicado, interrogated, with public opinion pending, while the country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, warned that if the papers were not in order, Nole would be deported. Suddenly, the traffic light closed red.
The change of direction was pushed by social outrage of the Australian population, who interpreted the news as a favorable treatment towards Djokovic, after having endured a few strict restrictions during the pandemic, especially scrupulous at their borders. Local complaints penetrated Morrison, who, in election year, has shown an iron hand: “The rules are the rules. Nobody is above ”. Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, has also intervened in defense of his citizen, a flag of your country. The matter has become politically convoluted, to the point of creating a diplomatic problem, while stirring up the tense debate about the anti-vaccines, public or private health. The case has been poisoned. We don’t talk about tennis anymore, but Nole does not shy away from the game.