Foreign athletes coming to France: no vaccines, no competitions

The day after the expulsion from Australia of world tennis star Novak Djokovic, the French government clarified on Monday its doctrine on foreign athletes coming for a major competition, Roland-Garros included: like everyone else they will have to be vaccinated.

“The vaccine pass applies to everyone, volunteers, high-level athletes including from abroad and until further notice,” the sports ministry told AFP on Monday.

Unless the rules are relaxed by then, the current world No.1 Djokovic will therefore have to be vaccinated to participate in the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, in Paris (May 22 – June 5). Unvaccinated, the Serbian champion was expelled from Melbourne before the start of the Australian Open, where he was seeking a record 21st major title.

This is valid for all competitions as soon for the Six Nations tournament (February 5-March 19), several government sources told AFP.

Until now, the rule was only clear for athletes playing in France.

– Obligation to enter a sports arena –

As soon as the introduction of the vaccination pass was announced, the Ministry of Sports specified that it would apply to professional athletes working in France. Whether they are French or foreign, they will have to have the sesame to enter sports equipment. The famous “ERP”, an establishment open to the public, a stadium or a hall, like anyone else.

But what about foreign athletes who come to France as part of a competition?

The question arose last week as the sports world hung on the mind-boggling saga of Djokovic, who has been on an ejection seat since arriving in Australia.

But also after the controversial remarks of the Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, assuming his management of the health crisis, dropping: “the non-vaccinated, I really want to annoy them”, without making any distinction.

As a first response, the Minister for Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, had hinted that the health bubble of an event like Roland-Garros could allow an unvaccinated player – like Djokovic – to come and play in France, since in any case to enter on French soil it was not necessary to be vaccinated.

An athlete “who will not be vaccinated (…) will be able to participate in the competition because the protocol, the health bubble of these major sporting events, will allow it” then declared on January 7 the minister on France Info, thus seeming to open an exception for unvaccinated athletes coming to compete in France.

An astonishing precision because very upstream of the Roland-Garros tournament when the management of this unprecedented health crisis forced the public authorities to sometimes change course from one week to the next. Preparations for the major tournament will also coincide with the end of the presidential campaign in France.

— “+No exemption when you’re a star+” —

Ten days after the words of Roxana Maracineanu, and with the expulsion of Novak Djokovic, there is no longer any question of considering an exception for these unvaccinated sports stars.

“There is no question that for great athletes, artists, + personalities +, we derogate from the rule. The rule applies to all”, hammered the boss of the LREM group to the National Assembly Christophe Castaner on the airwaves of BFMTV-RMC Monday morning.

Djokovic “has no vocation to play if he does not respect a rule that will apply to spectators, ball boys, professionals who go to work and run a shop at Roland-Garros. What world would we be in? if we decided that, because we are a star, we can derogate from the rule?”, he added.

This obligation to be vaccinated can also mean that there will no longer be a health bubble stricto sensu around an international competition, but this has not yet been decided.

From this weekend, the European Rugby Cup will be affected by this new doctrine. If the law on the vaccine pass is well promulgated, the vaccine pass will apply, it was specified to the Ministry of Sports.

It will also apply to the next international competitions, the Grand Slam of judo in Paris (February 5-6), as well as the Six Nations tournament. According to the British press, several English international rugby players are not vaccinated.

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