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Football

16th Jan 2022

Crystal Palace captain slams media in tweet praising Novak Djokovic

Callum Boyle

The Crystal Palace captain hit back at the media for their treatment of Djokovic

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic has hit out at the media for their treatment of Novak Djokovic in his latest tweet where he praised his fellow Serb.

Djokovic was deported from Australia after it was ruled that he did not have sufficient evidence to prove why he was exempt from receiving vaccinations against Covid-19.

The treatment of the tennis world number one has caused a split of opinion across the world, with one half condemning the Australians for their supposedly ‘harsh’ handling of the incident, while others praised the country for not bending the rules in favour of an elite athlete.

Several high-profile stars have recently displayed their support for the 20-time Grand Slam winner and Palace captain Milivojevic is the latest public figure to do so.

The midfielder, who also hails from Serbia, posted a tweet containing a list of things the ‘real’ Novak Djokovic has achieved, with the media supposedly brushing over them and instead chastising the Serb.

The 30-year-old captioned the post in support, saying “Simply the best!!!” followed by an emoji of the Serbian flag.

Listed on the post included the likes of giving money to hospitals and renting “a private plane to transport a girl with a rare disease for treatment in the USA” amongst a host of other commendable acts of kindness.

However, many were in disagreement with the Palace skipper’s unwavering support for his compatriot, and let their feelings be known in the replies.

One fan reminded the midfielder of his responsibilities, but didn’t seem surprised given that Milivojevic allegedly broke the rules during lockdown in 2020 by hosting a New Year’s Eve party with Aleksandar Mitrovic.

They said: “As captain of a Premier League football club, you have a responsibility to act with integrity & set a good example. Celebrating someone who has acted selfishly & broken rules isn’t a great look. But then I’d expect nothing more from someone who threw an NYE party during lockdown.”

Meanwhile, another fan said: “This is absolutely shameful Luka. The best people get vaccinated against covid, they don’t set themselves as martyrs, despite putting others at risk and undermining public health. Such a shame.”

Milivojevic has made 11 appearances for Crystal Palace this season, failing to score in any of them.