The Djokovic affair goes from twist to twist.
While the Serbian is on the brink of an investigation by Australian immigration services for failing to mention a trip to Spain before arriving on the island-continent, a new investigation could undermine his entire defense.
According to the very serious German weekly Der Spiegel, which has allied itself with the independent online data analysis site Zerforschung, the PCR test provided by Djokovic's team to justify his exemption from vaccination and obtain his temporary visa for the 'Australian Open would have been tampered with.
Now let's move on to sports: the whole world is talking about the test certificates of a tennis player right now.
#Djokovic
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- zerforschung (@zerforschung) January 11, 2022
Indeed, the photocopy of the PCR test published on Monday brings forward the date of December 16.
But according to the investigation by Spiegel and Zerforschung, based on Unix data from the QR code at the bottom of the test, it was actually dated December 26.
To sum up: in Serbia, PCR tests are "stored" in an online register accessible via the QR Code.
If scanning this QR code does not allow to know on what date it was produced, it gives access to a Unix identification number, which is in a way a kind of time marker allowing to know when it was recorded in the database. of data.
A positive test on the 26th?
And for Spiegel, this PCR test, allegedly carried out on the 16th, would have finally been recorded after his negative test of December 22nd. The ID number for the 16 test would, in fact, match those recorded around December 26. This would mean that, via a falsification (such as a modification in Photoshop), the PCR test would have been backdated by 10 days.
Which would partly explain why Novak Djokovic appeared in public and without a mask the day after December 16, when he was supposed to have learned of his positive test.
It remains to be seen why he would have lied about the date of his PCR.
On a document from Tennis Australia, it is mentioned that a player testing positive for Covid must have provided a negative test of at least 14 days to participate in the Australian Open.
Perhaps Djokovic - or his team - were afraid that the Serbian would not hit the nail on the head for a tournament start on the 20th.
Still, this investigation adds to the many gray areas of this case.
And that she could play a role in the decision-making of Australia's immigration minister, who is expected to decide on Tuesday whether Djokovic is allowed to stay.