Whatever is going on regarding Novak Djokovic's visa to enter Australia for their tennis tournament, his on court rival, Rafa Nadal, has summed things up perfectly. He points out that Djokovic knew the rules and has had plenty of time to sort things out - he has only himself to blame if its all gone wrong.
That said, there does seem to have been some confusion as Djokovic presumably believed that he had been given a valid visa and permission to enter the country. However, has he also tried to use his fame and celebrity status to try to almost blackmail the Australian authorities into caving in to him ? It seems to me that he may well have tried to force the authorities to accept him, claiming he had a visa, arriving and presenting himself in what he hoped would be a fait accompli.
Clearly, the Australian authorities have been put, or found themselves, in a difficult position but they really have only one way out. That is to deny Djokovic entry unless he complies with the rules they have in place; allowing him some special status would be utterly unacceptable to the majority of the Australian population as well as probably to most of his potential fellow competitors in the forthcoming Australian Open Tennis Tournament.
I have no problem with the stance Djokovic has taken regarding disclosure of his vaccination status but he has to understand that others may have different views and approaches. He has to understand that he has no right to force his beliefs on others and that, regardless of his beliefs, he has to abide by the laws and rules imposed by governments and other organisations.
Of course, Djokovic may still be able to convince the Australian authorities that he should be granted a medical exemption from their entry regulations and he may even go on to win the tournament yet again. However, if his appeal fails and he is deported, he will have learnt a salutary lesson - not even the world's best tennis player is above the law.
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