Australia's Prime Minister has opened the door for tennis star Novak Djokovic to play at next year's Australian Open.
After Immigration Minister Alex Hawke withdrew the visa from the Serb on Friday, he is actually subject to a three-year entry ban.
That would mean that the world tennis leader could not win his tenth title at the tournament, which starts today in Melbourne, until he was 37 at the earliest.
Christopher Hein
Business correspondent for South Asia/Pacific based in Singapore.
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Djokovic had to leave Australia on Sunday night and is expected in Spain after a stopover in Dubai.
After the deportation, the government is now trying to limit the damage - because the athlete makes the Australian Open attractive for spectators around the world and thus generates income.
"There is the possibility..."
"Of course it's about a period of three years," said Scott Morrison on Monday morning in Australia.
"But there is the possibility that someone will return under the right circumstances, which would then have to be examined at the relevant time." But he did not want to set any conditions that would restrict a minister from making the decisions he had to make, he said prime minister.
Home Secretary Karen Andrews also noted that ministers want to consider a "compelling reason" that Djokovic would submit when applying for entry. "But that's all hypothetical at this point," she added.
After winning the Australian Open nine times, Djokovic would have had the chance to become the first tennis player to win 21 Grand Slam tournaments this year.
When applying for the visa, the unvaccinated player made a mistake and at the same time relied on incorrect information from Tennis Australia.
Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley is now being asked to resign by the Australian media in sharp comments.
Later, more and more inconsistencies about Djokovic's handling of the corona infection came to light.