Nigel Farage and Andy Murray volley barbs over Djokovic, Brexit
Nigel Farage, former leader of the U.K. Independence and Brexit parties, and Andy Murray, a Scottish tennis player formerly ranked No. 1 in the world, sparred on Twitter after Farage tweeted in support of Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic, the Serbian tennis player currently ranked No. 1 in the world, won his appeal Monday and will be allowed to compete in the Australian Open. The Australian government attempted to deport Djokovic for violating the country's public health rules after he arrived in the country Wednesday without having first received the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The spat began when Farage tweeted a video from Belgrade on Sunday captioned "In the trophy room with Novak's brother Djordje." The video showed the Brexit architect examining the trophies the tennis star has accrued over the course of his career, which includes a record-tying number of Grand Slam singles titles.
Murray fired back, accusing Farage of hypocrisy for hobnobbing with the Serbian athlete's family after spending "most of your career campaigning to have people from Eastern Europe deported."
Farage answered by tweeting that Murray doesn't "understand politics or the Brexit campaign" and is "filled with prejudice." He encouraged Murray to "[c]oncentrate on the tennis."
Murray got in the last word with a tweet that consisted entirely of the "Fishing Pole and Fish" emoji.
Social media users often use that emoji to indicate that someone is "fishing for attention."
It could, however, also be a reference to a viral March letter to the editor of the Yorkshire Post, which accused Farage of harming the British fishing industry.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
A Nipah virus outbreak in India has brought back Covid-era surveillanceUnder the radar The disease can spread through animals and humans
-
Trump HHS slashes advised child vaccinationsSpeed Read In a widely condemned move, the CDC will now recommend that children get vaccinated against 11 communicable diseases, not 17
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
