Novak Djokovic is now under investigation by three countries over the month before he travelled to the Australian Open.
The Spanish government is said to be looking into whether the Serbian tennis star entered the country illegally, prior to his flight to Melbourne. Djokovic travelled from Serbia to Marbella, Spain on December 31 and was believed to still be training in the Spanish city as of January 4.
He then flew to Australia the following day.
Now Spanish police and immigration authorities are investigating Djokovic amid claims he did not request special permission from the Spanish Embassy or Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter the country unvaccinated.
Djokovic is already facing deportation in Australia for travelling to the country while unvaccinated, and Serbian authorities are probing the athlete after he admitted failing to isolate after catching Covid.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday that he didn’t have any record of Djokovic travelling to Spain before heading to Australia.
‘I have no record of this presence of Djokovic,’ he said.
‘We have not been contacted by the Australian government to request such documentation.’
However, Djokovic may escape punishment if he’s considered a resident of Spain, having bought a house in Marbella in 2020.
The athlete has already apologised for marking on his Australian visa application that he had not travelled to any other countries in the 14 days before arriving in Melbourne.
‘This was submitted by my support team on my behalf – as I told immigration officials on my arrival – and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,’ Djokovic said in a statement on Wednesday.
This was a human error and certainly not deliberate. We are living in challenging times in a global pandemic and sometimes these mistakes can occur. Today, my team has provided additional information to the Australian government to clarify this matter.’
