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Footballer Matt Le Tissier Criticizes the Australian Government for Novak Djokovic’s Deportation

Published 03/19/2022, 12:38 PM EDT

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via Reuters

Novak Djokovic got banned from the Australian Open, and the debate over it is still going on. English footballer Matt Le Tissier spoke with Matt Gibson on the topic in a podcast. He showed discontent towards the Australian government for banning the Serbian player. He criticized the authorities for restricting Nole from playing in one of the major grand slam tournaments.

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Ban on Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic had a confrontation with the Australian government over his vaccination status. They banned him from entering Australia for three years after the cancelation of his visa. Undoubtedly, the dreams of being the first man to have 21 grand slam titles were laid down for Nole. 

via Reuters

Tissier’s perspective on the ban

In a podcast interview, Matt Gibson asked about the ban on world no. 2. Footballer Matt Le Tissier answered and talked about the reaction of the Australian authorities. He mentioned, “I just followed that. I think that the Australian government came out a bit incredibly poorly if we look at the handling of the situation. I thought was incredibly bad and then admitting in the end that it was nothing to do with views or his vaccination status”. Furthermore, he thought they overreacted and did all this to just set an example.

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The footballer made his regret clear by stating that they did it so that the people of Australia did not think that the government was making an exception for someone who is famous. He stated, “It’s just that they want to teach a lesson to him and make sure that the people of Australia didn’t think that it was an exception.” Besides that, he questioned the credibility of the Australian government and said, “He was just made an example. I don’t think the Australian government came out with any credibility whatsoever”.

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Novak’s present status

The BNP Paribas Open as well as the Miami Open too closed its door for Nole. He could not compete on the ATP tours. However, all is not unwell in the future for the Serbian player. The COVID-19 related restrictions have come down. And it is anticipated that Novak Djokovic would be able to defend his title in the French Open. Now, the only question remains, can Djokovic defend his title? 

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Written by:

Shivali Sharma

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Shivali Sharma is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. She has pursued her Master's in history from Himachal University, but her love for the game has driven her to write about tennis. Shivali is a huge fan of Naomi Osaka and admires Osaka not only for her on-court performances, but also for her off-court actions.
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Edited by:

Deepakshi Chaudhary