Farage: Djokovic has Won the First ‘Big Victory’ Against Coronavirus State

Kurt Zindulka

Brexit’s Nigel Farage hailed the Australian court’s decision to overturn the revocation of tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa as the first “big victory against the big state” in the pandemic era but warned that should Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrest the Serb again, Australia is nothing more than a “banana republic”.

On Monday, the world’s number one ranked tennis player, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won an appeal against his deportation over refusing to take a coronavirus vaccine, given that the tennis star had proof of recovery from the Wuhan virus and therefore fulfilled his obligations to gain a visa from the local Victorian government to compete in the Australian Open.

Brexit leader and GB News host Nigel Farage, who travelled over the weekend to Belgrade to meet with the Djokovic family, said that the court victory represented the first major victory against the “big state” since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This is the first really big victory against the big state which has grown so much over the course of the last two years since this pandemic began.

“I believe firmly in freedom of choice and hey he hasn’t had the vaccine that’s up to a young fit athlete like Djokovic.

“I think is a really big victory overnight a big victory for freedom of choice, a big victory for common sense, I’m just crossing the fingers and hoping that it stays that way,” Farage said.

However, in the ruling, the judge said that the federal government still had the authority to revoke Djokovic’s visa. Following the ruling the Immigration Ministry said that the case remains open, meaning the government may yet deport the star.

Should he be deported, Djokovic faces the possibility of a three-year ban from Australia, a prospect which would severely hamper his ability to rise in the ranks of Grand Slam winners.

“Is Australia a country that is based on the rule of law or is it a country where governments can exercise arbitrary power? If that judgment this morning is overruled, what’s the difference between Australia and a banana republic?” Mr Farage questioned on Monday morning.

In an intverview from Belgrade, Novak Djokovic’s uncle Goran told Mr Farage: “If they issued a visa for him and then they arrest him, then for me this is like a trap for the animals, like a wolf.”

“We still don’t believe this is happening in the 21st century,” Goran said.

“They invite him to come then they trap him and try to put him in jail. They are trying to put him on his knees but it is not possible, we are Serbian, we are a very proud Serbian nation,” he said.

The tennis great’s uncle went on to attack Prime Minister Scott Morrison, saying: “Scott [Morrison] has to take care of his position for the next election, I don’t know if his PR told him if they think it would be good.

“I have a feeling he will no longer be Prime Minister after April, this is what I hope.”

Some in the tennis world have critisised Mr Farage for getting involved in the Djokovic saga, inclduing Scotland’s Andy Murray who wrote on social media to the Brexit leader: “Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported.”

“Dear Andy, you clearly don’t understand politics or the Brexit campaign but are filled with prejudice.

“Concentrate on the tennis and, a word of advice, crack a smile every now and again,” Mr Farage replied.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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