Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Brighton, Everton & Djokovic

Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT - EVERTON & BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Over 32 years ago, tragedy struck the heart of Liverpool when 97 football fans didn’t make it home following a terrible crush on an overcrowded terrace during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football stadium.

Since that fateful day on April 15 1989, establishment lies, media smears, inquests, and trials and retrials have meant the families of the Hillsborough dead have yet to see justice be served. They have endured a fight spanning over three decades for the truth to be accepted – that the main cause of the disaster was police negligence, and that the South Yorkshire police nevertheless constructed a case that Liverpool supporters caused the dangerous situation outside the ground, by arriving without tickets, late, drunk, and misbehaving.

However, Last Friday Liverpool FC announced that the campaign to introduce a new Hillsborough Law was being stepped up.

Headed by Liverpool City mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, it seeks for changes to be made to the justice system to prevent others going through what the Hillsborough families experienced. A moving video from the Liverpool FC twitter account contains further detail on the law and argues that it would ‘compel public officials to be truthful in inquires’ and result in ‘families not having to wait decades for justice’.

What makes this pledge to make this into law even more powerful, is how quickly Premier League clubs offered support for the law, including Merseyside rivals Everton, and Brighton and Hove Albion.

Brighton were the first club to pledge support, who asserted that they are ‘proud to add their support to the campaign to launch a Hillsborough Law to provide transparency to bereaved families and rebalance the scales of justice in the UK.’

Shortly after the announcement, Everton released a statement saying that ‘Everton Football Club continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the families of the 97, Liverpool Football Club, and the people of our great city as the Club proudly adds its support to the Hillsborough Law Now movement. The campaign, formed by the Hillsborough families and survivors of the tragedy, calls for a change to the legal system to prevent others going through what the close relatives of the 97 have - and continue to - experience in their quest for justice.’

‘Everton will always stand in solidarity with the families who lost their loved ones at or as a result of the tragic events of football’s darkest day on 15 April 1989 and supports the continued call for justice. The dignity with which those families have carried themselves represents everything anyone needs to know about them and the people of the city of Liverpool.

For that reason, Everton Football Club calls for a #HillsboroughLawNow.’

Everyone involved will face huge challenges to get the law passed and will need all the help they can get. Former Prime Minister Theresa May came out in support of the law, saying that it would be a ‘valuable legacy’ for the 97 Liverpool fans who tragically died. This was reverberated by fellow former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who stated that 'no group of families should ever again have to walk alone' in a powerful speech in support of a new Hillsborough Law.

The support from fellow Premier League clubs is just the start, but certainly the dignity and immediate allyship they have shown has gone a long way into spreading the campaign beyond the city of Liverpool.

MISS – NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Speculation about Novak Djokovic’s plans to attend the Australian Open this month has been the talk of the sports world for much of the past few months.

World Number One Djokovic is one of the most high-profile athletes to express reluctance to take the Covid-19 vaccine and although he has not spoken publicly about his vaccination status, in his interview with border officials he confirmed he is not vaccinated.

While he remains determined to add to his 20 Grand Slam titles, it was inevitable that his entry into Australia in time for the tournament would not be plain sailing.

The entire sorry episode has been a public relations disaster, not just for Djokovic, but for Tennis Australia and indeed the Australian government with a catalogue of communication breakdowns and mis-steps creating a global storm.

Serbian publication the Informer had suggested before Christmas that Djokovic would not be permitted to play on medical grounds.

Whether that was meant to put pressure on the event organisers to find a loophole for one of the biggest names on the circuit or not, the turmoil really began when Djokovic made an Instagram announcement about his plans to compete in Melbourne.

Given Australia’s reputation for having some of the strictest visa rules, the decision to grant Djokovic an exemption was met with outrage by politicians and nationals alike.

Former AFL star Kevin Bartlett said on Twitter that the public had been “taken for fools” while former Australian Medical Association vice-president Stephen Parnis tweeted that the decision was “appalling.”

There followed a classic case of buck-passing as Tennis Australia, the Victoria government and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave contrasting interpretations of the law and responsibilities until the premier back-tracked and confirmed that Djokovic's visa had been cancelled by Border Force agents who questioned the legitimacy of Djokovic’s vaccination exemption.

Djokovic’s plight inadvertently shone a light on the squalid conditions at Australian detention centres, having been sent to the Park Hotel in Melbourne which also houses refugees and asylum seekers.

Inhabitants have talked about maggots in their food and prison-like conditions, prompting Sophie McNeill from Human Rights Watch to say: “I feel very uncomfortable with how Mr. Djokovic has been treated. No one deserves to be humiliated in this way. This could have been resolved before he travelled. Not a good image for #Australia to send to the world.”

With the eyes of the world on the court where Djokovic appealed for his visa to be reinstated, the government acknowledged that he had not been given enough time to respond following the notification of his visa cancellation.

The court ordered his immediate release amid accusations that the affair had been politicised, particularly with the state of Victoria recording over 30,000 positive Covid cases a day despite a vaccination rate of more than 90%.

No wonder the ATP, which runs Men’s Tennis, criticised the whole sorry episode, saying in a statement: "Complications in recent days related to player entry into Australia have... highlighted the need for clearer understanding, communication and application of the rules.

"In travelling to Melbourne, it's clear Novak Djokovic believed he had been granted a necessary medical exemption in order to comply with entry regulations.

"The series of events leading to Monday's court hearing have been damaging on all fronts, including for Novak's well-being and preparation for the Australian Open."

Rival Rafael Nadal backed the decision to let Djokovic play and said: "Regardless of whether or not I agree on some things with Djokovic, without any doubt, justice has spoken.

"They have said he has the right to play in the Australian Open and I really believe that is the fairest thing if the issue has been resolved, which seems to be the case.”

The streets of Melbourne saw some Djokovic supporters waving Serbian flags while activists expressed anger that Djokovic’s case was resolved so quickly, when many are stuck in bureaucracy for years.

The affair became a diplomatic incident as well, with Morrison having to call his Serbian counterpart, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, who asked him to ensure Djokovic was treated with dignity ahead of the tournament.

The court’s decision could have been the end of the controversy, but it ended up getting worse.

A press conference held by Djokovic's brother, mother, father, and uncle in Belgrade was abruptly ended when they were asked about his attendance at events in the days following his December 16 positive result when he should have been in quarantine for 14 days.

Djokovic’s brother, Djordje, adjourned a press conference after initially confirming the December 16 positive test despite images that suggested Djokovic had been at an event on December 17.

Given that Djokovic had done an interview with a journalist from L’Equipe after his positive test, the timings started to raise questions about how transparent he had actually been.

The International Tennis Writers Association described the incident as "deeply concerning": “As journalists, we take great care to adhere to all Covid-19 rules in place and we expect all players to do the same," said Simon Chambers, co-president of the group.

"Furthermore, it should be noted that journalists have to be fully vaccinated to travel to Melbourne for this year's Australian Open.”

Djokovic released another Instagram statement, which appeared to address the confusion over dates which confirmed that he had gone to Spain from Serbia which was not declared on his visa application.

“This was submitted by my support team on my behalf - as I told immigration officials on my arrival - and my agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake. This was a human error and certainly not deliberate.”

He denied reports that he also knew he was infected when he attended that December 17 event in Belgrade to present awards to children.

“I was asymptomatic and felt good, and I had not received the notification of a positive PCR result until after that event,” but seemed to contradict that in an affidavit to an Australian court where he said that he was diagnosed the day before.

World number four Stefanos Tsitsipas was less than positive about Djokovic’s conduct: “For sure he has been playing by his own rules. It takes a lot of daring to do and (is) putting a Grand Slam at risk... I don't think many players would do that.”

After training for a few days at Melbourne Park, Djokovic had his visa revoked again by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke last Friday on the basis of "health and good order" grounds.

"Today I exercised my power... 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," Hawke said in a statement.

The decision to cancel Djokovic's visa certainly gave the Australian government a chance to save face with voters ahead of an election year.

A last-ditch court hearing saw judges reject the tennis star's appeal at the weekend.

Chief Justice James Allsop said that the court's ruling was based on the lawfulness and legality of the minister's decision, not on the “merits or wisdom of that decision.”

Hawke made a swift statement saying: “Australia’s strong border protection policies have kept us safe during the pandemic, resulting in one of the lowest death rates, strongest economic recoveries, and highest vaccination rates in the world. Strong border protection policies are also fundamental to safe-guarding Australia’s social cohesion which continues to strengthen despite the pandemic.

“Australians have made great sacrifices to get to this point and the Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting this position, as the Australian people expect.”

No doubt there will be more diplomatic issues to address but given that a News Corp poll of more than 60,000 respondents was 84% in favour of the second Djokovic visa cancellation, this suggests that the decision would be met with approval from the electorate.

The argument that he was promoting vaccine resistance and a poster boy for the anti-vax movement is laughable, though.

He always wanted to keep his medical status private, and while he voiced concerns when asked last summer, the only confirmation of his choices came when tapes of his border force interviews were released.

Not once has he urged others to make the same choices he has made.

Djokovic, to his credit, also made a statement which said all the right things in the case of what must have been a huge disappointment.

Whether this means Djokovic’s commercial power will wane is unlikely, despite the controversy that surrounds him.

He has been a divisive figure even before issues with visas and vaccinations with sponsors including watch brand Hublot alongside Head, Lacoste, and Asics making no comment expressing concern.

What this will also mean for Djokovic regarding future tournaments – particularly the US Open – also remains to be seen although France has announced that all players have to be vaccinated, which puts his attendance at Roland Garros in doubt.

The entire episode underlines the problems caused by a lack of communication and the conflicts caused by multiple stakeholders who did not co-ordinate their strategies or collaborate on messaging. It is another reminder that in this digital age, everything is caught on camera and there is nowhere to hide when factual discrepancies come to light.

Anyone for tennis?