Novak Djokovic has reignited tensions in Australia by suggesting he may have been poisoned while staying at a Melbourne immigration hotel during his COVID-19 visa fiasco
Novak Djokovic has claimed he may have been poisoned while staying at a Melbourne hotel during his visa fiasco three years ago.
Djokovic was deported from the country ahead of the Australian Open in January 2022 after refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The fiasco caused such an uproar at the time that Immigration Minister Alex Hawke personally intervened in the case.
The Serbian player had planned to defend his title using a medical exemption approved by the state government and Tennis Australia, but Australian Border Police intervened. Djokovic was eventually forced to leave Australia, but is now back Down Under and aiming to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.
Ahead of the tournament which begins this weekend, Djokovic made a startling claim, suggesting his illness on his return to Serbia in January 2022 could have been due to foul play during a five-day stay in a migrant hotel.
“I found myself in a hotel in Melbourne being given food that was poisoning me,” he told GQ. “When I returned to Serbia, some revelations occurred. I never spoke publicly to anyone about it, but the facts I discovered showed that I had very high concentrations of heavy metals in my body. Heavy metal. I had lead, very high levels of lead and mercury.” Asked if it had been put in his food, Djokovic replied: “That’s the only way.”
Djokovic, who follows a meticulous diet, called in an emergency medical team to treat him. “Yes, I was very sick, it was just like the flu. But a few days later, a simple flu hit me hard, he added. “I got the disease several times and had to get toxicology tests. »
When he was asked about the accusation of GQ, the Ministry of Interior in the Australian said he had not commented on individual cases. Djokovic has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 because he does not think he needs it. “I’m a professional athlete and I’m very careful about what I take and I get all kinds of tests done regularly, blood tests and stuff like that,” he said.
“I know exactly what’s going on. So I didn’t feel the need to do that. It’s also important to be clear that I pose no threat to anyone. “Because I wasn’t. I had the antibodies.”
While he holds no grudge against Australia, where 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles have been won, he said his family does not view the incident as something in the past. However, he told Melbourne’s Herald Sun this week:
“The last couple of times I landed in Australia to go through passport control and immigration, I had a small injury from three years ago.
“As I go through passport control, there are still traces of someone approaching me from the immigration area, and the man checking my passport is wondering: are they going to take me away, detain me again or let me go? I have to admit that I have this feeling.
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