Novak Djokovic's Medical Exemption Saga Gets Murkier as His COVID Test QR Code Throws Mixed Results

Novak Djokovic's medical exemption saga to participate in next week's Australian Open has been full of twists and turns. Just when everyone thought that the Serbian star had finally won his battle against Canberra, another shocking development has now emerged.

The tussle between world no. 1 Novak Djokovic and Australia's federal government may have concluded for the time being after Judge Anthony Kelly reinstated the 20-time Grand Slam winner's visa, but the drama looks set to kick off again.

Djokovic, who was in hotel quarantine from 6 January after he was detained at Melbourne Airport, got a massive reprieve when Kelly ordered his release on Monday.

However, the row over his visa has become murkier since he left the immigration facility as questions have been raised over the status of his COVID-19 test report.

New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg has claimed that the QR code on Djokovic's Coronavirus report is throwing mixed results.

Rothenberg even declared that Djokovic's test results are "fishy" before revealing that when one scans the QR code, the result comes out as negative and not as positive.

Folks, it gets fishier.

Djokovic’s presented positive Covid test from December 16 (confirmation code 7371999-259039) comes with a QR code on it.

When you scan that QR code (and you can try yourself), it takes you to a website showing that test was *negative*, not positive.

🤷 pic.twitter.com/Ivu1vdsgOO

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 10, 2022

On Monday, when Djokovic's brother, Djordje, was asked to speak about the tennis player's PCR test, he insisted that the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion had followed all the rules and "all his documents were legal" and in public domain.

However, when Djordje was questioned about why the 34-year-old tennis superstar attended an event hosted by the Serbian tennis association the day after his positive result, he abruptly ended the media briefing without answering.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Djokovic's problems aggravated further after reports said that the Belgrade-born player lied on his Australian travel entry form.

Australia's Border Force is now investigating the fresh claims and if the evidence proves that the nine-time Australian Open winner made a false declaration about his travel history, he could face up to 12 months in prison.

But the final decision about his stay in Australia would only be made on Wednesday by the country's immigration and citizenship minister Alex Hawke.