NIGEL Farage has discovered what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an Andy Murray ace after wading into the Novak Djokovic row.
The GB News host and former Brexit Party leader was slapped down by Murray on social media after posting a video of himself in Belgrade with the Djokovic family.
It was announced overnight that Djokovic has won an appeal against a decision to refuse him a visa in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia ahead of the Australian Open.
The world number one had been detained at an immigration facility in Melbourne since Thursday morning after his visa was cancelled following scrutiny of the medical exemption he had secured to travel to the first tennis major of the year.
Farage had earlier tweeted from Belgrade with the Djokovic family showing his support for the Serb, prompting a response from two-time Wimbledon champion Murray.
“Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported,” the Scot tweeted.
Please record the awkward moment when you tell them you’ve spent most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported.😉 https://t.co/rfFn1hdXlu
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 9, 2022
After the decision, Farage tweeted again saying the Australian government would “look dreadful” if it cancelled Djokovic’s visa a second time.
The Brexiteer responded to Murray by telling him to "concentrate on the tennis" and "crack a smile every now and again".
The comment was swiftly dismissed by the Scot.
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 10, 2022
Other social media users noted that Farage had long called for an “Australian-style” immigration system in the UK.
There’s always a tweet. https://t.co/TZRdPDuk68
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) January 9, 2022
Murray's tweet was hailed by another tennis legend, Martina Navratilova.
She described his response as "perfect", tweeting: "Bravo Andy!"
Perfect!!!! Bravo Andy! https://t.co/dTX7kO19zp
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 9, 2022
Farage has previously made widely condemned comments about people from eastern Europe. Ahead of the 2015 General Election, the then-Ukip leader said he would favour immigrants from some countries over others.
“I have to confess I do have a slight preference," he told the BBC. "I do think, naturally, that people from India and Australia are in some ways more likely to speak English, understand common law and have a connection with this country than some people that come perhaps from countries that haven’t fully recovered from being behind the iron curtain.”
In 2014, he stood by remarks he made about Romanians, saying people would be right to be concerned if a group moved in next door.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Murray expressed concern for Djokovic and said his predicament is “really not good for tennis at all”.
“I think everyone is shocked by it, to be honest,” five-time Australian Open finalist Murray stated.
“I’m going to say two things on it just now. The first thing is that I hope that Novak is OK. I know him well, and I’ve always had a good relationship with him and I hope that he’s OK.
“The second thing, it’s really not good for tennis at all, and I don’t think it’s good for anyone involved. I think it’s really bad.”
Ahead of the tournament, Andy’s brother Jamie spoke out over Djokovic’s medical exemption for the tournament.
He said: “I think if it was me that wasn’t vaccinated I wouldn’t be getting an exemption, but well done to him for getting clear to come to Australia and compete.”
During the court hearing in which the Australian government was ordered to release Djokovic from detention within half an hour, government counsel Christopher Tran notified the court that the minister for immigration, Alex Hawke – not the minister who made the original visa cancellation – will now consider whether to exercise a personal power of cancellation of Djokovic’s visa.
The court also released a transcript of Djokovic’s interview with Australian Border Force last week, during which the Serb confirmed he has had Covid-19 twice and is not vaccinated.
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