Serbian authorities confirm Novak Djokovic’s Covid tests not falsified
After concerns arose regarding the credibility and legitimacy of his Covid-19 tests, Serbian authorities have declared Novak Djokovic did not falsify PCR tests for his Australian Open medical exemption.
20-time Grand Slam legend Djokovic was denied the chance to win a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title when he was deported just one day before the start of the Australian Open.
The World number one raised eyebrows when a number of discrepancies were reportedly found within his Australian Open medical exemption papers. This led many to believe he had forged a positive Covid-19 PCR test.
This week, Serbian prosecutors received requests to launch a criminal investigation against unnamed individuals after allegations of doctoring two PCR certificates.
This comes after a BBC report cast doubts over the sequencing of the World number one’s PCR tests that were submitted as evidence to support his medical exemption claim.
The investigation built upon an initial study by German research group Zeforschung which claimed the first PCR test taken on December 16th, which came back positive, had a different code than the second test taken on December 22nd, which returned a negative result.
However, the Belgrade Public Prosecutor’s Office received confirmation from the Serbian Health Ministry that the tests were deemed accurate.
As such Serbian prosecutors said “the prosecution acted according to the regulations, checks were performed, and it was determined that Novak Djokovic was tested several times and that the certificates on the test results from December 16th and December 22nd are valid.”
There were also uncertainties regarding the dates of his positive PCR test. Djokovic returned a positive test on December 16th, however, he was then pictured at promotional events on December 17th and 18th without a mask.
Djokovic since released a statement to social media saying upon reflection, he made “an error of judgement.”
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