Fans of famous Serbian tennis player Novac Djokovic have clashed with police in Melbourne outside the offices of Djokovic’s lawyer, with cops resorting to using pepper spray in response.
At some point, fans gathered around a car they thought was carrying Djokovic and started chanting “Free Novak!”, as police struggled to hold them back, Reuters notes.
A crowd of over a hundred people has gathered outside the exit of the car park, with some of the people chanting while others were dancing in circles in the middle of the street, the media outlet adds.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Djokovic being detained again, despite the fact that a federal district court in Melbourne overturned the Australian government's decision to revoke the visa over alleged violation of vaccination rules.
The office of Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, however, confirmed that Djokovic has not been arrested, AP points out.
According to the media outlet, government lawyer Christopher Tran also told the judge that Australia’s immigration minister “will consider whether to exercise a personal power of cancellation” regarding Djokovic’s visa.
Djokovic arrived in Australia last week to take part in Australian Open, which is set to launch on 17 January.
He was, however, refused entry by federal border officials, who argued that the exemption from vaccination rules he received from from Victoria state authorities and Australian Open organisers was not valid.