Serbia’s Prime Minister Launches Stunning Statement Against Novak Djokovic
Ana Brnabic said 'the laws equally apply to all'.
Serbia's Prime Minister has launched a stunning rebuke against Novak Djokovic.
It sounded like everyone in the Eastern European country was backing the world number one male tennis player in his fight for freedom in Australia.
The Serbian star had his visa cancelled upon arriving into Australia after authorities felt he didn't have the right evidence to support a medical exemption not to have a coronavirus vaccine.
A federal court in Melbourne overturned that decision and he was free to play in the Australian Open.
While Djokovic was publicly supported by Serbia's President, his family and a vocal portion of the population, it appears the country's Prime Minister is at odds with the majority.
Ana Brnabic said: "No one is allowed to breach the isolation rules as it, therefore, puts the health of other people in jeopardy.
"There are some standards that have to be met.
"In this case it seems to me that if he was aware of it then it is a clear violation of the rules - and what the sanctions are that's what relevant institutions will have to look into."
The Prime Minister said everyone is is thankful for 'what he has done for the Republic of Serbia' however 'the laws equally apply to all'.
Sky News Australia notes how this stunning statement against Djokovic was issued before the tennis star admitted he broke the rules.
Novak had been facing questions about attending events between December 16 to 18 last year and has since cleared up the confusion around when he knew he was Covid-19 positive.
He took a PCR and rapid antigen test on December 16 after reports emerged there was a Covid-19 outbreak at a basketball game he attended two days earlier.
"The next day I attended a tennis event in Belgrade to present awards to children and took a rapid antigen test before going to the event, and it was negative," he said in a statement on Instagram.
"I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification of a positive PCR test result until after that event.
"The next day, on 18 December I was at my tennis centre in Belgarde to fulfil a longstanding commitment for a L'Equipe interview and photoshoot. I cancelled all other events except for the L'Equipe interview.
"I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L'Equipe interview as I didn't want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken.
"While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error of judgement and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment."
He also mentioned how his travel declaration form was filled out wrong when arriving in Australia.
Novak said it was genuine 'human error' when someone from his team ticked the box stating he hadn't travelled anywhere in the last 14 days, when in reality he had been to two other countries prior to landing in Melbourne.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: News, Novak Djokovic
Stewart Perrie