Australia's Prime Minister has gone ballistic, Scott Morrison,[/B] in response to the special medical clearance granted to "number one" world tennis star, Novak Djokovic, by the authorities allowing him to participate unvaccinated in the Australian Open.
The Serbian tennis player has at times expressed his opposition to the Covid vaccination and has studiously avoided mentioning his vaccination status.
"He will be on the next plane back home if he does not prove his reasons for being exempt from the sporting federation's rules," a visibly annoyed Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, according to Britain's Daily Mail.
Earlier, Craig Tyley, CEO of Tennis Australia and match director of the first Grand Slam of the season, which starts in 12 days in Melbourne, weighed in on the issue and essentially dropped the ball on Djokovic.
"We fully understand everyone's upset as Novak's views on vaccination are well known. However, it is up to him to publicly discuss his situation and why he took the exemption. We are not in a position, and it is not legal, to reveal the reasons and make medical information public," he said and clarified that the medical exemption Djokovic received was taken after investigating facts and data.
The Serbian tennis player's announcement on social media yesterday that he has received a medical clearance allowing him to compete unvaccinated in Melbourne angered Australians who are threatening to boycott the Grand Slam. But the country's prime minister, too, cannot fathom how he was granted the special dispensation.
"Novak applied for a medical exemption which was granted after a thorough vetting process by two separate independent teams of medical experts. One of these was the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel appointed by the Victoria Department of Health. They assessed all applications to see if they met the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) guidelines," the Tennis Australia host authority said in a statement.
[BRI][BRI]As reported by Britain's Daily Mail, Djokovic arrives in Melbourne in a few hours to defend his Grand Slam title with Prime Minister Scott Morrison warning him that he "will not be given special treatment and will be banned from entering the country if evidence is deemed "insufficient" to allow him to opt out and play unvaccinated in the tournament.
"There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic. None whatsoever We await his presentation and what evidence he provides to support that," Scott Morrison said today at a press conference.
As announced by the Victorian state government, Novak Djokovic was one of 26 athletes who requested to be exempt from the coronavirus vaccination.
The decision by the authorities has caused a storm of controversy in Australia, where more than 90 percent of people over the age of 16 have been vaccinated against coronavirus, with ardent tennis supporters threatening to boycott the annual tennis tournament on the grounds of special treatment for the nine-time world champion.
Source: Proto Thema
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
