TENNIS star Novak Djokovic was banned from entering Australia as he couldn’t explain why he is not vaccinated, the government confirmed.
The anti-vax World No 1 sparked major controversy after he was granted a vaccine exemption to compete in the Australian Open.
But his visa was sensationally revoked following a six hour stand-off at Melbourne Airport and a major U-turn by Australian authorities.
The country’s Home Affairs minister Karen Andrews has now revealed the Serbian sportsman did not provide adequate reason for why he is unjabbed.
She told Channel Nine’s Today Show: “Anyone entering Australia has to meet the entry requirements which includes medical evidence of vaccination or alternately for medical reasons that individual cannot be vaccinated.
“So, specifically he [Djokovic] hasn’t met the medical reasons why he couldn’t be vaccinated.”
The 34-year-old had been granted an exemption to play despite his unvaccinated status – before it was dramatically cancelled.
As the athlete attempted to enter Aussie territory, he was ordered into a side-room by Border Force guards after a visa “blunder” was revealed.
The tennis player’s furious father Srdjan called on people to “take to the streets” to protest at his son’s blocked entry.
Djokovic, seeking to win a record 21st Grand Slam title, was stripped of his phone and kept alone in the room, with armed police on patrol outside.
Even Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic got involved, eventually contacting Djokovic to offer his support and backing and summoning Australia’s ambassador to the country for a dressing down.
Ms Andrews addressed the continuing “chatter” about the visa, but said “on my understanding is not the issue it is the entry requirement.”
“The Border Force has been very clear, that he was not able to meet the requirements to provide the evidence he needed for entry into Australia,” she added.
She echoed the comments of Australian health minister Greg Hunt, who said Djokovic had failed to provide “appropriate standards of proof” to enter the country.
The minister also explained Border Force Australia are on the warpath for passengers arriving Down Under despite not meeting the entry requirements.
It emerged that Tennis Australia had granted exemptions to two other players who did not meet strict Boorder Force rules.
“The Australian Border Force has been investigating this now,” Ms Andrews continued. “They have been for at least the last 24 hours in my knowledge.
“I will be briefed further on that potentially today but maybe later. Border Force will actually complete its investigations and then I will be briefed.”
Fellow sportsman and fierce rival Rafael Nadal slammed Djokovic’s stance, saying he should respect the “suffering” people have endured during the pandemic.
“I mean, it’s normal that the people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through a lot of very hard lockdowns and a lot of people were not able to come back home,” he said.
“The only clear thing is if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open and everywhere, and the world in my opinion has been suffering enough to not follow the rules.”
It comes after Djokovic’s mother claimed her son was trapped in a filthy hotel “full of fleas and maggots” in Melbourne.
She branded the move a “political attack so that he does not become the best of all time.”
The 20-time Grand Slam winner was rushed to a room at the Park Hotel in Carlton – an infamous immigration detention facility – from the airport after landing from Dubai, guarded by armed police.
