Watch: Channel 7 presenters call Novak Djokovic a "lying, sneaky a******" in leaked video
Two Channel 7 presenters, Mike Amor and Rebecca Maddern, were recently caught off-air insulting Novak Djokovic and accusing him of "lying" about his COVID-19 test.
Djokovic had his visa reinstated on Monday after Judge Anthony Kelly ruled that he was not given enough time to respond after being notified by authorities of their intent to cancel his visa. The Serb had flown into Melbourne with a medical exemption on the basis that he had tested positive for the virus on 16 December.
In the video clip that's been doing the rounds on social media, Amor can be seen hunting for his microphone while the camera inadvertently keeps recording. While the male anchor was busy searching for his mic, Maddern began the conversation by labeling the World No. 1 a liar.
"Whatever way you look at it, Novak Djokovic is a lying, sneaky, a******," Maddern said. "Like whatever way you look at it. It's unfortunate that everybody else stuffed up around him. Like to go out, when you know you're COVID positive - well I don't think he was even COVID positive."
The video can be seen in the tweet embedded below:
Questions have been raised about the legitimacy of Djokovic's positive test, considering its timing. The World No. 1 has also copped criticism from people worldwide for attending a couple of public events after apprarently testing positive for the dreaded virus.
Amor and Maddern alluded to these details in their rant about the nine-time Australian Open champion. According to Amor, the 34-year-old came up with a feeble "excuse" for his medical exemption.
"I think he got a b******* f******* excuse," Amor said.
Maddern interjected by pointing out how Djokovic seems to have lied on one of his official travel documents where he stated that he did not visit any country ahead of traveling to Australia.
"And then now he's telling he didn't go to Spain, that's just like ughh," Maddern said.
Both anchors agreed that the Serb would likely walk away from the situation without any repercussions.
"I think he's gonna get away with it," Amor said.
"Oh he's gonna get away with it," Maddern agreed.
Maddern then claimed that no party "gained" anything by detaining Djokovic. But she also proceeded to point out that life was never "fair," possibly alluding to how the Serb's wealth and fame helped him come up trumps.
Maddern and Amor's rant on Novak Djokovic evokes mixed response on social media
The leaked video, in which the two Channel 7 presenters hurled expletives at Novak Djokovic, unsurprisingly caused a rumble in the Serb's fanbase. But there were plenty of others, including a few Australian citizens, who praised Amor and Maddern for their honesty.
Below are some tweets in which the two presenters were lauded for their comments in the video:
Naturally, Djokovic's fans made their feelings quite clear on Twitter, with some demanding an apology from Amor and Maddern and others calling for them to be sacked.
Some users even suggested that the video was deliberately staged in order to bring coverage towards their channel.
It remains to be seen if the Serb's legal team decides to take action against Channel 7 and the two presenters.
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