Specialists have solid doubt on Novak Djokovic’s declare that he was “poisoned” by the meals he ate in lodge immigration detention throughout his Australian Open visa saga, suggesting it’s potential however unlikely.
Interviews with the previous world primary forward of the 2025 Australian Open have reopened public debate in regards to the chain of occasions in 2022, with Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios saying his dwelling nation had “handled [Djokovic] like shit” by cancelling his visa in 2022.
The Serbian 24-time grand slam winner had his visa cancelled at first on the idea that he didn’t have a sound exemption to enter Australia whereas unvaccinated, after which personally cancelled by the then immigration minister, Alex Hawke, as a result of his unvaccinated standing may undermine social cohesion.
Djokovic was detained within the Park lodge in Melbourne for 5 days earlier than he left Australia after an unsuccessful enchantment to the complete federal court docket.
Djokovic instructed Melbourne’s Herald Solar newspaper this week that he nonetheless had trauma from his experiences three years in the past and felt stress arriving on the metropolis’s airport.
“I realised that in that lodge in Melbourne I used to be fed with some meals that poisoned me,” Djokovic instructed GQ journal, in an interview launched on Thursday.
“I had some discoveries once I got here again to Serbia. I by no means instructed this to anyone publicly, however discoveries that I used to be, I had a very excessive degree of heavy metallic. Heavy metallic. I had the lead, very excessive degree of lead and mercury.”
The Division of House Affairs declined to remark, citing privateness causes.
Commenting typically fairly than on the specifics of Djokovic’s case, Dr Barbara Cardoso, a dietary biochemist at Monash College, mentioned Australians had “comparatively low publicity to steer and mercury” as a result of measures together with the phasing out of lead in paint, petrol and plumbing.
“Mercury may be current in meals, however the meals with the best mercury focus are fish and shellfish.”
“The focus in fish and shellfish present in Australia is comparatively low,” Cardoso mentioned. “It requires time for that mercury to build up within the physique to trigger poisoning.
“The meals that individuals … who stay in Melbourne and devour domestically that will have been harvested right here or offered at native grocery shops is unlikely to trigger a poisoning.”
Dr Catharine Fleming, senior lecturer in public well being at Western Sydney College, mentioned it was “laborious to indicate causation between [Djokovic’s] acquisition of the heavy metallic poisoning and the meals consumed with none scientific take a look at outcomes”.
“Nonetheless, we did full a research throughout the Covid pandemic centered on the meals obtainable in quarantine particularly for youngsters and their households and located this to be extremely poorly executed, with advert hoc meals provision supplied of poor high quality.”
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The Park lodge is used in its place place of detention for non-citizens together with asylum seekers, a few of who reportedly complained that their meals was infested with maggots.
Kyrgios mentioned on Friday morning that, though he had not heard the Serbian’s newest accusation of poisoning, he believed Djokovic’s visa saga was not dealt with nicely.
“I haven’t spoken to him about that, I didn’t even know that,” he mentioned.
“However yeah, I imply, we handled him like shit that’s for certain, we shouldn’t have executed that.”
In November 2022, Guardian Australia revealed the newly elected Labor authorities had determined to elevate a three-year ban that normally accompanies visa cancellation.
On Friday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, mentioned he had not seen Djokovic’s newest feedback relating to the saga.
“I’m not going to reply to feedback that I haven’t seen,” Albanese instructed reporters in Perth. “I want Mr Djokovic very nicely, all one of the best on the court docket over the interval of the Australian Open.”
Chatting with media in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, Djokovic was pressed on his declare in regards to the “poisoned” meals.
“Look, the GQ article got here out on-line yesterday, and I believe it’s a February challenge, so it’s popping out in print model,” he mentioned.
“I’ve executed that interview many months in the past, so I’d recognize not speaking extra intimately about that, as I want to give attention to the tennis and why I’m right here. If you wish to see what I’ve mentioned and get extra information on that, you possibly can all the time revert to the article.”
– With further reporting by Jack Snape
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