Increasingly uneasy about how Djokovic is being treated. Whatever your views on the man, he was approved to board that plane. And now? An 8hr interrogation, a glorified detention centre, and global ridicule. This does not feel like 'rules are rules'. It feels like a show trial.
51,356 positive cases in state of Victoria today. And Djokovic, who tested negative to board his flight, is somehow an unconscionable risk to the community?
Rafael Nadal, usually a scrupulous diplomat, very pointed in his verdict on Djokovic's predicament: 'The world has been suffering enough. Get vaccinated. If he wanted, he would playing here in Australia without problems.'
Australian Lawyers' Alliance not holding back on Djokovic deportation: "One of the most dangerous aspects of the matter is the preparedness of the federal government to deem someone a risk to public order simply on the basis of what it perceives that person’s views might be."
11,500 fans at Dortmund today. Up from 9,000 a fortnight ago. A sensible, graduated resumption of normality. In this country? Zero at any league game. But no problem to have 3,000 indoors for The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall in December. It is utterly ludicrous
'I've left cycling – losing to a trans rider hurts on a million different levels'
Exclusive interview with Hannah Arensman, the US champion cyclist who walked away from her sport aged 24, despairing at the unfairness of competing against biological males
Exclusive: British Rowing is expected to announce tomorrow a dramatic abandoning of its controversial transgender policy, restricting the women's category solely to those born female
At Anfield. Minute's silence for the Queen abandoned after 30-40 seconds. Smattering of loud boos and jeers, despite efforts of the vast majority to respect the moment.
Novak Djokovic's exclusion from the US Open is utterly ludicrous. In 2021, when everybody had to show proof of vaccination, he could play. In 2022, with restrictions rolled back, he is barred. This is a decision rooted not in science but in pandemic puritanism.
There is molten fury, quite understandably, among so many female athletes at the Austin Killips story. And the BBC saw fit to send a tweet (since deleted) under the approving banner of 'History made'. Ludicrous
Just an absurd situation that Valentina Petrillo, who only began transitioning in 2019, can be on a global athletics podium for women at the age of 49. 18 years older than any other competitor in the race.
@TelegraphNews
piece here
Greg Hunt, Australia's health minister, confirms Djokovic has failed to provide 'appropriate standards of proof' to enter the country and that he will be sent home.
'Women had dedicated their lives to this. To have it taken away by somebody who, only a year earlier, would never even have qualified as a man?'
An interview with Riley Gaines on racing trans swimmer Lia Thomas – and the burning injustice she still feels
The mood is turning. When even Nick Kyrgios is expressing compassion for Djokovic's circumstances, it is a fair sign Australia has got this horribly wrong. My latest
With five Formula One world titles, Lewis Hamilton MBE has the same rank in British honours system as Paul Collingwood, who received gong after scoring 7 & 0 at the Oval in 2005. Beyond absurd.
EXCLUSIVE: Six first-class counties are demanding urgent answers from the England and Wales Cricket Board as to why a middle-aged player who transitioned from a man to a woman is being allowed to compete against girls as young as 12
£930 million: the combined value of Manchester City's matchday squad today. And received wisdom is that they have no choice but to buy Kane for another £127m. Guardiola is far more than a chequebook manager, but this is obscene.
Exclusive: At least four teams in a Sheffield women's football league are refusing to play against a club who fielded a transgender player accused of causing a season-ending injury
A second player, Czech Republic's Renata Voracova, has had her visa cancelled by the Australian government and been moved to the same hotel as Djokovic. This is becoming very ugly. She has already competed in a warm-up tournament.
'Ridiculous' US vaccine laws need to be relaxed for Djokovic, says McEnroe.
Agree. A vaccinated person riddled with Covid is free to travel to US. But Djokovic – who would have to test negative due to his unvaccinated status – is barred. That is absurd
Football needs to stop prevaricating. The transgender debate is not 'constantly evolving'. The spectacle of a 31-year-old biological male competing against 16-year-old girls is not about to become any less absurd tomorrow than it already is today. Comment
Shamelessness of the IOC is beyond measure. No medal ceremony if Valieva finishes in top three in women's figure skating singles. Potential for the dignity of two blameless athletes to be compromised, all for the sake of appeasing Russia.
Exclusive: Michael Engleman, race director of the Tour of the Gila, has issued a powerful rebuke to cycling's governing bodies after biological male Austin Killips' victory in the women's event sparked a global furore, warning: 'This could kill the sport'
As Novak Djokovic's detention at Melbourne Airport extends beyond six hours, his father Srdan tells media, via
@sunriseon7
: 'They are holding my son captive. If they don't release him in the next half an hour, we will fight them on the street.'
Andy Burnham's warnings of the devastation these restrictions will inflict on Manchester are based on deep knowledge. Alongside Vincent Kompany, he donated 15 per cent of his mayoral salary to tackling homelessness in the city. Any suggestion of opportunism is pathetic.
No decision on Djokovic tonight. Eight days this has gone on now. Not sure how any players, never mind the world No 1, can be expected to prepare for a major tournament with the sword of Damocles being wielded over them like this.
There is an increasing possibility that Djokovic will be on the next flight home. Both the Serbian Embassy and the Australian Ambassador to Serbia are now becoming involved. A lonely-looking Australian Open courtesy car still waiting for him outside airport.
Astonishing, outrageous, unparalleled: Nadal’s 21st major title is all of this and more. But Djokovic's absence casts a shadow impossible to ignore. My piece
It took 76 days from Austin Killips winning cycling's Tour of the Gila to the UCI imposing its transgender ban. Just as sport was captured by trans ideology with dizzying speed, it can extricate itself just as quickly.
Time for the IOC to step up. Column
For Seb Coe to claim that the 'transgender issue is only at elite level' is demonstrably wrong. Fair sport for women is not a subject for arbitrary compromises. Comment
Wood points out how, across all the tournaments in which Djokovic has competed during the pandemic, not a single instance of anti-vax lobbying has been recorded or witnessed.
Extraordinary picture of Romain Grosjean's F1 car in Bahrain. Car sliced in half and engulfed by fire. Driver somehow appears unscathed – testament again to the halo
Exclusive: Inga Thompson says she is 'horrified' and 'gobsmacked' at being accused by cycling team Cynisca of 'affecting its brand and reputation' for opposing biological males in women's sport. But pledges to continue the fight for fairness
@ithompsonfdn
This feels a significant day in sport's transgender debate. First British Rowing gives its 31,000 members a vote on banning trans athletes from the female category, now the UCI suggests a volte face in cycling's global policy after Austin Killips' win. The atmosphere is changing.
Cycling has its Lia Thomas moment as Austin Killips, a 27-year-old biological male who only took up the sport in 2019, wins women's Tour of the Gila. Next stop Olympics? Thank you to
@ithompsonfdn
for her insights for this piece
Significant police presence at the office of Djokovic's lawyers on Collins St, Melbourne. White vans heading into underground car park. Reports that Australian federal police heading in to arrest him. Immigration minister has four hours in which to re-cancel his visa.
Melbourne, to its credit, is the most pro-vax place you could imagine. 93 per cent of over-12s double-jabbed. Proof of vax status demanded *everywhere*. The argument that Djokovic's presence here will now encourage people to 'disregard' health advice is preposterous
The Big Three may be no more, but Djokovic, at 35, looks primed to add to his 21 majors for years yet. Frighteningly impressive at Laver Cup on his first appearance since Wimbledon.
Perhaps the most staggering moment I have seen in sport. In the space of a single summer, Emma Raducanu goes from unassuming A-level student to undisputed queen of New York. Wins US Open without losing a set, without even facing a tie-break.
Kyrgios doubles down in his condemnation of how Australia has handled Djokovic's case: 'It's a mess – I just want it to end. I feel he has helped us. During the bushfires, he was supportive. We are so quick to forget. I'm feeling for him. It's not really humane, what's going on.'
Exclusive: British Cycling urged to close policy blindspot after biological males enter women-only events.
It has thrown one female ride leader off its Facebook group for using the term 'male', on the pretext that this constitutes discriminatory language
A source said: 'If I have a 13-year-old girl who needs to change because she has just started her period, she could well be sharing a confined space with a man who, under ECB policy, has decided they are now female. I have real concerns about that.'
The full reasons for federal court's ruling on Djokovic have just been published. A stark admission in paragraph 8: 'There was no requirement upon the minister to afford Mr Djokovic natural justice'
The spectacle of Austin Killips, a post-puberty male, winning the women’s Tour of the Gila is the latest expression of a conspiracy of silence that reaches to the summit of global sport. Column
The Tour of the Gila, a prominent cycling race in New Mexico, announced equal prize money for men and women this year.
First prize of $35,350 (£28,145) has just been won in female event by Austin Killips, a biological male
Where is the hard evidence for the government's argument that Djokovic could adversely influence vaccine take-up in Australia? Administration of booster jabs has been at record levels in the time he has been here.
Doubt
@fairplaywomen
will appreciate being listed under 'media misinformation' as an 'organisation formed with the express purpose of fighting against transgender equality'. This guide does not exactly meet Olympic standards of neutrality.
From the 'terms to avoid' section: 'Born male/born female. No one is born with a gender identity.' How was this allowed to be disseminated at an Olympic venue as a supposedly balanced document?
British Rowing's trans stance is nothing short of indefensible. Doubly galling is the fact that policy changes disproportionately affecting women are being imposed, in the main, by men. Comment
'How much longer to realise that boys do not belong in girls' sports? Twenty injuries? One hundred? Death?'
Serious questions for sport to answer as teenage female hockey player in Massachusetts loses teeth after being hit by shot from male opponent
Galling to hear Craig Tiley praised by Medvedev for his qualities as tournament director. For all Nadal's brilliance, Tiley's culpability in the Djokovic debacle has cast a large shadow over this Australian Open.
My interview with CNN on the ramifications of Djokovic's second visa cancellation – and why Australia is simply scrambling for any pretext to throw him out
"It seems like they are scrambling for any pretext to throw him out."
Chief Sports Writer for The Telegraph
@oliverbrown_tel
says the goal posts keep shifting when it comes to making a verdict on
@DjokerNole
playing in Australia.
23 major titles for Djokovic. And in three of last 11 slams he has been disqualified, deported or banned from entry. Difficult to think of anyone who comes close, in any sport, for sheer indestructibility.
Gaines on the locker-room experience: 'We were not forewarned about Thomas sharing our space. That's insanity to me. All of a sudden, the place goes silent and there's a biological male towering over everyone else, starting to undress. You feel this sense of total discomfort.'
A female rower racing at Henley Women's Regatta next month has come forward anonymously to implore British Rowing to 'protect women's sport' – and keep the female category for those born female. A rare intervention, such is the fear of backlash
The Djokovic decision is a vindictive, political act. An immigration minister with no legal qualifications overruling a federal judge? It smacks of government by opinion poll. Comment
2022 Australian Open: Deported
2023: Wins
2022 US Open: Banned
2023: Wins
This, of all the facets to Djokovic's 24th Grand Slam title, stands as the starkest testament to his otherworldly mental strength.
Extraordinary outpouring of emotion from Djokovic, flat on his back in players' box. Understandable, given the debacle he went through 12 months ago. Amazed how diplomatic he has managed to be.
Telegraph Sport has seen multiple letters from parents whose daughters have faced this cricketer, whose case has not previously appeared in the media, in club matches. One coach claims the player 'hits the ball harder than any other I have seen in the league'
She lays bare the situation in the starkest terms: 'This has gone on long enough and far enough. It should never have reached this point. This is not fair sport, and the governing bodies need to realise it. The very people who should be protecting our sport are not doing so.'
Column on golf's Hailey Davidson furore. The personal desire of one biological male for affirmation as female must not trump women's fundamental right to fair play
Gaines finished in a dead heat with Lia Thomas for fifth in her event, but had to accept a trophy for sixth 'for photo purposes'. 'Thomas didn’t say a word. It suggests to me a lack of self-awareness, plus disrespect towards the female athletes.'
Wood to Judge Kelly: 'What emerges with utmost clarity from a transcript of Mr Djokovic's interviews at the airport was a repeated appeal to officers that he had done absolutely everything he understood was required of him to enter Australia.'
Amazing, this. Here is immigration minister Alex Hawke, the man who now deems Novak Djokovic an intolerable risk to the health of Australians, describing the Serb in 2021 as a 'good ambassador here in Australia'
'Insensitive, barbaric, arrogant and, above all, disrespectful to the animal with which he made his fame and fortune.' Powerful and necessary piece by
@Armytage
on the Gordon Elliott scandal
The day after. Backlash from Serbian players has been fierce. Laslo Djere said of Djokovic's deportation: 'Catastrophic – the whole world saw it, and they will probably have a new or different opinion about Australia.' Piece from Melbourne Park
The inside story of how rowing fell captive to radical transgender ideology. I spoke at length to
@MaryOConnorMD
, a former US Olympic rower and a trailblazer for female equality in sport, who says: 'It is indefensible, ridiculous.' Special report
Wood: 'Not a single line in the evidence before the minister provided a logical foundation for the idea that Mr Djokovic's presence in Australia might foster anti-vax sentiment.'
Francesca Needham, openly trans, has now withdrawn from playing for Rossington Main Ladies FC but intends to pursue a case for discrimination.
A source said: “This is purely about safety. I’ve already told my players, ‘We’re not playing them. I’d sooner throw away the points.’”
Djokovic's barrister, Nick Wood, to Judge Anthony Kelly: 'Mr Djokovic made a declaration of his medical contraindication. He was not required as part of that declaration to provide evidence – but he did.'
From drugged-up stupor beside a Florida highway to a fifth green jacket. In 674 days. A stunning, almost incomprehensible story. Perhaps greatest comeback in the history of sport