The choice to grant Novak Djokovic a medical exemption in opposition to being vaccinated to play within the Australian Open has divided tennis followers, with some vowing to boycott the occasion.
The 20-time grand slam winner and posted an image of himself at an airport on Tuesday morning declaring that he was on his method to defend his title in Melbourne.
'I've spent implausible high quality time with my family members over the break and right now I am heading Down Beneath with an exemption permission. Let's go 2022!' he wrote.
It comes after a months-long battle with the Victorian authorities, officers and occasion organisers that ended with the nine-time Australian Open champion being granted an exemption.
Australian Open organisers say the medical exemption was granted by way of a 'rigorous overview course of' that went by way of the Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) pointers.
Djokovic has lengthy divided opinion within the tennis world, and people feelings have been magnified by the exemption.
Whereas some questioned the choice and blasted organisers, others welcomed the Serbian star's presence on the match.
Queensland senator Matt Canavan stated letting Djokovic play within the first grand slam of the 12 months posed 'little danger' as a result of the tennis star had contracted Covid-19 earlier than.
'Pure immunity by a number of research is way, a lot stronger than the immunity you get from having a vaccination,' Mr Canavan stated on the At this time present on Wednesday.
'So there's little danger right here in letting Novak Djokovic in.'
The senator stated on a 'sensible floor' the participant was unlikely to cripple Victoria's well being system after the state recorded 14,000 instances and 516 individuals in hospital.
'Sure, a few of us would like to see guidelines apply actually and consistently. However I feel a few of these guidelines are short-term,' Mr Canavan stated.
'We have to get again to a wise world right here and transfer on with life and fortunately, with the seemingly much less deadly Omicron variant, I feel we're very near that, and right here maybe is simply one other small step to ending the pandemic and returning, as I say, to the land of commonsense.'
The transfer makes a change in tack from each the Victorian authorities and Tennis Australia, with each vowing as lately as November that unvaccinated gamers wouldn't be welcome.
Djokovic contracted the virus whereas internet hosting a celebration in the midst of the pandemic and has by no means explicitly revealed if he's or is not jabbed.
Presently vaccination exemptions are solely handed out in Australia to individuals who have had anaphylaxis after a earlier vaccine or an ingredient within the supplied jabs.
People who find themselves immunocompromised may also obtain an exemption in some circumstances.
The transfer has already outraged many Australians, who've been advised they can not re-enter their very own nation except they're totally vaccinated or face two weeks in strict lodge quarantine, with many already expressing their fury on-line.
Jamie Murray, the British doubles participant, was neither having simply competed within the ATP Cup.
When requested his ideas he stated: 'I feel if it was me that wasn't vaccinated I would not be getting an exemption.'
After a pause he added: 'However properly accomplished to him for getting clear to return to Australia and compete.'
The response of the gamers alongside Murray on the press convention prompt this was a minefield few had been ready to cross.
Definitely the Australian gamers James Duckworth and Alex de Minaur had been extra circumspect, if not precisely overjoyed on the information.
'I do not know the factors for exemptions ,apparently it is an unbiased panel, he will need to have match the factors someway, so, yeah, if he is match the factors, then, yeah, he ought to have the ability to come,' stated Duckworth.
De Minaur responded with fun: 'That is very politically appropriate of you.'
The Australian No.1 added: 'I simply assume it is simply very attention-grabbing, that is all I'll say. However, hey, it's what it's, I simply hope that the opposite gamers that I heard there have been different instances as properly, they acquired exemptions, so I hope they'll all match the factors.'
Richard Ings, the previous head of Australia's anti-doping authority ASADA, and a eager advocate of vaccination, was much less reticent.
'Clearly all this discuss vaccination standing being private and personal solely held water as much as the purpose of tossing it again within the face of vaccinated Australians,' he wrote on twitter.
Seven hours after asserting his journey plans the Serbian had acquired 32,400 likes, 6,500 retweets and 5,900 replies.
Given he has 8.8m followers these numbers aren't significantly massive. Extra pertinent was the content material. There was a major hard-core of assist, a lot of it from compatriots or anti-vaxxers.
However there was much more criticism, typically very strongly worded, a whole lot of it from Australians, a lot of whom additionally took goal at their very own Authorities.
A number of took to Twitter to announce they might boycott the match if Djokovic was allowed to play whereas others stated they might refuse to look at the TV protection.
Because the Serbian tennis star has been granted an exemption, he will not need to enter two weeks of lodge quarantine - like un-vaccinated arrivals should.
As a substitute, Djokovic should comply with the identical guidelines as fully-vaccinated travellers - taking a PCR take a look at on arrival and isolating till the consequence comes by way of.
It comes regardless of sturdy phrases from the Australian Open Director Craig Tilley and the Victorian Premier who vowed unvaccinated attendees wouldn't be welcome.
'It has been made very clear when the Premier introduced that with a purpose to take part on the Australian Open, to return into Victoria, you will must be totally vaccinated,' TA CEO and Australian Open Event Director Craig Tiley stated final 12 months.
'It's the one path that you just take, that you could guarantee everybody's security. All of the taking part in group understands it. Our patrons will must be vaccinated, all of the workers working the Australian Open must be vaccinated.
'Once we're in a state the place there's greater than 90 p.c of the inhabitants totally vaccinated, it is the appropriate factor to do.'
Likewise, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews stated final 12 months he wouldn't 'facilitate' unvaccinated tennis stars getting into the nation.
'I am not very properly going to say to those who they cannot go to the pub tonight except they're double vaxxed, however sure high-profile individuals who select to not be vaccinated... I am not going to be facilitating them coming right here,' he stated defiantly.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison echoed the Victorian premier's sentiments, saying gamers would not be given preferential remedy and that the states would determined who did and did not enter.
'The identical guidelines apply to everybody, whether or not you are a grand slam winner, a chief minister, a enterprise traveller, a pupil or whoever. Identical guidelines,' he stated in October.
In an announcement to Each day Mail Australia, Tennis Australia stated licensed proof of vaccination or legitimate medical exemptions can be the one manner into the nation or an individual must serve 14 days in lodge quarantine.
They denied the suggestion it was searching for 'loopholes' to assist Djokovic enter the nation.
'Any utility for a medical exemption should comply with strict authorities pointers based mostly on ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) medical recommendation,' a Tennis Australia spokeswoman advised Each day Mail Australia.
'This is similar course of that applies to any particular person desirous to enter Australia.
'Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the area of unbiased medical consultants. We aren't ready to affect this course of and nor would we.'
In December, TA unveiled its Covid-19 vaccination protocols for this 12 months's match, together with the method for stars searching for medical exemptions.
CEO Mr Tiley spoke to At this time concerning the granting of a small variety of exemptions to unvaccinated gamers competing at Melbourne Park, saying they'd been reviewed anonymously by medical professionals.
'Coming into Australia, each athlete coming in must be vaccinated and present proof of that, or has to have made utility from a medical exemption. Within the case of tennis gamers, that is much more rigorous than anybody coming into Australia making use of for a medical exemption,' the TA CEO stated.
'There are two medical panels that assess any utility, and so they assess it in a blind manner. They do not know who the applicant is.
'In opposition to the rules, an exemption will get granted or not. The rationale for granting the exemption stays personal, between the panel and the applicant.'
Mr Tiley stated he was conscious of athletes which have utilized for an exemption and been granted one, including it was as much as gamers to disclose their vaccination standing.
The Australian Open match begins on January 17 and the ATP has revealed that 95 out of the highest 100 males's gamers have been vaccinated.
Djokovic is but to disclose whether or not he's jabbed however has been a vocal critic in opposition to necessary vaccinations and stated final 12 months stated he doubted the effectiveness of vaccines in opposition to a virus that was consistently mutating.
'My difficulty right here with vaccines is that if somebody is forcing me to place one thing in my physique. That I don't need. For me that's unacceptable,' he advised the New York Occasions.
He'll defend his crown in entrance of a crowd of fully-vaccinated Australians, all who needed to get jabbed to get pleasure from their freedoms and a few of whom might have spent two weeks in lodge quarantine upon their arrival into the nation.
