Tunisia Suspended From Davis Cup Over Refusal To Play Israelis

Standoff: Malek Jaziri (above) refused to play Israeli tennis plyaer Amir Weintraub in the quarter finals of teh Tashkent Challenge in October. Image by getty images

By JTA November 3, 2013

Tunisia has been suspended from next year’s Davis Cup after it ordered one of its national players to withdraw from a tournament rather than face an Israeli player.

The International Tennis Federation made the announcement on Saturday, saying in a statement that the Tunisian National team would be banned from the 2014 Davis Cup competition after “ITF Board of Directors found that the Tunisian Tennis Federation was in breach of the ITF Constitution by interfering with international sporting practice and ordering Tunisian player Malek Jaziri not to compete against Israeli player Amir Weintraub at the 2013 Tashkent Challenger in October.”

“The Board was not satisfied with the case put forward by the Tunisian Tennis Federation and voted to suspend Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup competition,” according to the statement, Jaziri withdrew from the tournament a day before his quarterfinals match against Weintraub, citing a knee injury.

But Jaziri’s brother Amir, who is also his coach, told the French news agency AFP that he pulled out under orders from the Tunisian Tennis Federation not to play an Israeli. An email ordering Jaziri to pull out of the match was published by Tunisia’s state news agency. The Tunisian Sports and Youth Ministry denied making such a demand.

It is believed to be the first time that a player has refused to play against an Israeli in international tennis play, according to reports.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO