After an attempt to move the venue to Stockholm failed, the Swedish city of Malmo remains as the official host of the upcoming Davis Cup tie between the host country and Israel.
According to reports, the city of Malmo will play host in this highly publicized event. It has been reported that the upcoming match will be played without fans or spectators due to security concerns.
Swedish organizers said that there’s a possibility that anti-Israeli demonstrations will take place thus forcing them not to allow spectators in the best-of-five series on March 6 to 8.
Israeli Tennis Federation Chairman Michael Klein expressed his sadness on this development.
“It’s terrible that they are trying to mix politics with sports, especially in an enlightened country like Sweden,” he said.
Last week, Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates to compete in a WTA tournament in Dubai. The tournament organizers claimed that they are concerned for the players’ security since Israel’s military offensive in Gaza took place just last month. The organizers were fine $300,000 by the WTA Board.
Stockholm officials have offered to become an alternate venue of the match but stepped back after realizing that there’s not enough time to organize the event in their city.
