Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley on Thursday denied media reports that his sports organization would pay legal and travel costs incurred by Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic during his visa debacle ahead of the Australia Open tournament
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2022) Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley on Thursday denied media reports that his sports organization would pay legal and travel costs incurred by Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic during his visa debacle ahead of the Australia Open tournament.
On Wednesday, British newspaper Daily Mail reported that Tennis Australia would reimburse Djokovic's litigation expenses of approximately $500,000 under the agreement that had been reached on Djokovic's struggle to stay in Melbourne and participate in the competition.
"I have seen those reports (on Tennis Australia's funding Djokovic's legal and travel expenses) today and we don't really go into the detail of financial arrangements we have with players but those reports are simply untrue," Tiley said in an interview to Australian Nine broadcaster.
Tiley also dismissed speculations about his resignation in connection with the controversy on Djokovic breaching Australia's COVID-19 regulations.
Unvaccinated Djokovic arrived in Australia on January 5 to participate in the Australia Open tennis tournament. On January 6, he was detained and put into a migration isolation ward after the Australian authorities canceled his visa. Djokovic was accused of skirting COVID-19 rules, as his vaccination exemption was invalidated. His legal team swiftly appealed the decision.
Four days later, the tennis player was released from the isolation ward by a court order. On January 10, Djokovic's visa was reinstated by the Federal district court in Melbourne, but on Friday, Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke wielded personal power to revoke the player's visa, after which Djokovic skipped the tournament and left the country on Sunday.
