French Sports Ministry has insisted that Novak Djokovic will not be allowed to participate in the French Open unless he’s vaccinated.
Gatekeepers News reports that Djokovic could be facing more trouble at the next Grand Slam – French Open after the government insisted on a COVID-19 pass barring the unvaccinated from all sports arenas.
French Open is the next Slam in the tennis calendar will take place in May and the world No. 1 was expected to participate without complication. However, there is a new COVID-19 Pass.
France’s lower house voted by 215 to 58 to give final approval to a vaccine pass that will exclude the unvaccinated from restaurants, sports arenas, and other venues. This is applicable to everybody over the age of 16 and the law will take effect shortly.
This immediately threw Djokovic’s participation at Roland Garros into doubt.
A representative of the 17th and 18th arrondissement in Paris, Stanislas Guerin said: “Djokovic’s behaviour was irresponsible. Australia is a sovereign country that makes its rules and the rules should be respected.
“We can’t have two weights and two measures regarding the Covid Pass. If you are called Djoko, Nadal, or Mr Whoever, you respect the rules.
“All the big events which will take place in France will adopt the Covid Pass. Who would understand if we asked our citizens to make an effort and respect the rules and we then authorised some to get out of them?”
The news follows the deportation of Djokovic from Australia after his visa was cancelled by authorities in the country. The World No. 1 was also banned from the country for three years.
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that Djokovic left Australia late on Sunday night after 12 days of a legal tussle with the Australian government. The tennis star finally exhausted all options, with the full bench of the Federal Court siding with Australia’s Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel the visa.
The Serbian, while breaking his silence on the issue said, “I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister’s decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open.
“I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country.”
On the other hand, the tennis body – ATP described the situation as ‘regrettable’, but also took the opportunity to advise all players to get vaccinated.
ATP said in a statement, “Today’s decision to uphold Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa cancellation marks the end of a deeply regrettable series of events.
“Irrespective of how this point has been reached, Novak is one of our sport’s greatest champions and his absence from the Australian Open is a loss for the game.”
The ATP added that it also “strongly recommends vaccination to all players.”
