The decision to send Novak Djokovic home has sparked a huge reaction from people across the globe following the hotly anticipated announcement on Friday afternoon.
Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke made the decision just before 6pm AEDT, cancelling the nine-time Australian Open champion's visa "on health and good order grounds".
He claimed it was "in the public interest to do so".
"Today I exercised my power under section 133C (3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so," a statement attributed to the Immigration Minister read.
"This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022, quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds.
"In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic."
However, during a hastily scheduled late-night hearing in the Federal Circuit Court on Friday, Judge Anthony Kelly ordered that the federal government not take any steps to remove Djokovic from Australia before an appeal from the tennis star is resolved.
Djokovic admitted to incorrectly filling out his Australian Travel Declaration form when he ticked a box saying he had not travelled in the 14 days before flying to Australia, despite proof he had gone from Serbia to Spain in the two weeks before departing for Melbourne.
However, the world No 1 said his agent filled the form out for him.
"This was a human error and certainly not deliberate," he said, blaming "challenging times in a global pandemic" for the mistake.
Everyone from newsreaders, politicians, tennis commentators and local barflies have weighed in on what has become a major international story over the past week.
Veteran tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg said the saga may not be over yet, with Djokovic still appealing. Djokovic also faces a potential three-year ban from re-entering the country, but has not yet been removed from the 2022 tournament draw.
"We wait to see if, when, and how Djokovic might appeal this decision. We also await clarity on if Australia would seek to enforce the three-year ban from re-entering the country that can accompany such a deportation order. Djokovic has not yet been removed from #AusOpen draw," he tweeted.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison briefly commented on the decision but refrained from adding more "due to the expected ongoing legal proceedings".
"Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected," he said Friday evening.
"This is what the Minister is doing in taking this action today. Our strong border protection policies have kept Australians safe, prior to Covid and now during the pandemic."
