Novak Djokovic has won an appeal against a decision to deny him a visa in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia ahead of the Australian Open.
Judge Anthony Kelly has quashed the visa cancellation and ordered the Australian Government to pay legal costs and release Djokovic from detention within half an hour.
Earlier in the day, Djokovic was removed from detention to be with his lawyers during the hearing, and Judge Anthony Kelly expressed agitation over the rejection of Djokovic’s medical exemption.
Djokovic’s lawyer, Nicholas Wood, argued the notice of intention to cancel his visa was defective because it was made on “a confusing blend of two grounds”.
At a press conference before the appeal verdict, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not comment on the since it was before the courts.
It was revealed in court documents submitted by Djokovic’s lawyers that the World’s top tennis player had been infected with COVID-19 in December 2021. The documents said the infection was the basis of Djokovic’s medical exemption.
The documents also noted that Djokovic expressed “shock”, “surprise, and “confusion” when he was notified of his visa cancellation “given that (as he understood it) he had done everything he was required to enter Australia”.
But Australia’s Home Affairs Department filed court documents in which it stated “there is no such thing as an assurance of entry by a non-citizen into Australia” and noted that the Minister has the power to cancel Djokovic’s visa a second time if the court rules in his favour.
More: Sky News