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Australia has cancelled Novak Djokovicโs visa for a second time.
The 34-year-old tennis star had his visa revoked on January 6th after arriving Down Under โ where he is hoping to play in the Australian Open next week to defend his title โ and he was detained at an immigration facility, and while that was overturned by a judge on Monday (10.01.22), it has now been taken away again on โhealth and good orderโ grounds.
As a result, Djokovic โ who has not been vaccinated โ could now be deported from the country, but he can still challenge the decision.
Australiaโs Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement: โToday I exercised my power โฆ to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.โ
Djokovicโs visa was initially revoked after it was deemed he had โfailed to provide appropriate evidenceโ to receive a vaccine exemption.
It was later revealed he had tested positive for COVID last month, and earlier this week the star admitted to breaking isolation while COVID positive when he attended a newspaper interview.
Djokovic insisted he โdidnโt want to let the journalist downโ, but the sportsman admitted that was an โerror of judgementโ.
Whatโs more, the world number one menโs tennis player revealed that on his travel declaration form a box was ticked claiming he hadnโt visited any other countries in the 14 days prior to his flight to Australia.
The star has since insisted his agent ticked the โnoโ box by mistake, putting it down to โhuman errorโ.
He added: โOn the issue of my travel declaration, this was submitted by my support team on my behalf โ as I told immigration officials on my arrival โ and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia.
โThis was a human error and certainly not deliberate. We are living in challenging times in a global pandemic and sometimes these mistakes can occur.
โToday, my team has provided additional information to the Australian Government to clarify this matter.
โWhile I felt it was important to address and clarify misinformation I will not be making any further comment out of utmost respect for the Australian Government and their authorities and the current process.
โIt is always an honour and a privilege to play in the Australian Open. The Australian Open is much-loved by players, fans and the community, not just in Victoria and in Australia, but around the globe, and I just want to have the opportunity to compete against the best players in the world and perform before one of the best crowds in the world.โ