Survey shows more than 50% of Australian public want Novak Djokovic removed from the country
Novak Djokovic won his court battle to stay in Australia and began his preparations for the Australian Open earlier this week. However, if a public survey conducted by an Australian research organization is to be believed, at least 50% of the local public does not approve of the Serb being allowed to stay in the country.
Djokovic was initially granted a medical exemption to play at this year's Australian Open. But after his arrival in Melbourne last Wednesday, the Australian Open defending champion was detained by the Border Force officials and his visa was revoked.
The Serb's lawyers went to federal court challenging the decision. The court ruled in favor of the 34-year-old. The World No. 1 will, as it stands, stay in the country to defend his 2021 crown in Melbourne later this month.
An Australian organization called Utting Research recently surveyed the local public sentiment towards Djokovic. John Utting, the director of the research organization, took to Twitter on Wednesday to illustrate what the survey had shown.
Utting began with the question, "Should tennis player Novak Djokovic's entry visa be canceled and he be made to leave Australia?", followed by the results of the poll.
According to Utting Research, more than half of the Australians surveyed believe that the Serb should be deported by the Minister of Immigration.
The survey showed 31% of the respondents felt Djokovic should not be asked to leave the country for a variety of reasons, whereas 18% of them remained neutral. It should be noted, however, that even though the survey was nationwide, only 500 citizens were allowed to participate.
Should tennis player Novak Djokovic's entry visa be cancelled and he be made to leave Australia?
51% YES
31% NO
18% DK
N=500, nationwide, online 12th Jan
Novak Djokovic:
27% Positive opinion
43% Negative
30% Dk
Survey shows 43% of the respondents have a negative opinion of Novak Djokovic
In another poll conducted by the same organization, the respondents were asked to give their general opinion on the World No. 1. According to the results of this survey, only 27% of the respondents had a "positive opinion", while 43% of them felt the opposite sentiment. 30% of the respondents were neutral about the Serb.
It should be noted, however, that these two surveys were conducted well before the World No. 1's latest statement, where he offered an explanation for the controversy surrounding his medical exemption and visa.
A large majority of the Australian public on social media were already not happy with the court's verdict. For what it's worth, the Serb's statement earlier on Wednesday will likely not help his case at all, and it has already drawn even more outrage from locals.
In the statement, the Serb confirmed that he had made a mistake in his visa application form and admitted to not isolating even after testing positive for COVID-19, calling it "an error in judgment."
"On the issue of my travel declaration, this was submitted by my support team on my behalf - as I told immigration officials on my arrival - and my agent sincerely apologizes for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia. This was a human error and certainly not deliberate," Djokovic said.
"While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error in judgment and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment," Djokovic wrote.
@AustralianOpen @DjokerNole A giant slap in the face to every other player who abided by the rules of the nation and tournament.
Hello I am Novak Djokovic I would like to respond to "misinformation" by:
* confirming a form submitted on my behalf was incorrect and
* confirming I knowingly attended an event while covid positive.
No further questions at this time
However you look at this - as a fan or as a critic - this is totally unacceptable.
While Djokovic mentions being COVID safe with a mask and distancing, he also doesn’t say whether he told the @lequipe journalist or photographer about his positive result.