Israel Tennis Match - No Fans Allowed....

Is this the future for Israeli tennis players - playing to empty stadiums???

Sweden's upcoming Davis Cup tennis match against Israel will be held behind closed doors, Malmö city council ruled on Wednesday. The decision follows a vocal campaign against the match in protest at the situation in the Middle East.

The match was scheduled to be played from March 6th to 8th at the Baltiska Hallen venue, which can hold 4,000 spectators. Police had said the match could go ahead and that the public could be admitted.

The decision to ban the public was made by the council's sports and recreation committee on Wednesday afternoon. A Social Democrat and Left Party-led motion to have the match played in an empty hall was passed by five votes to four.

A "Stop the Match" campaign has been underway in Sweden since Israel's offensive in Gaza erupted last December, and thousands of demonstrators are expected to rally outside the Baltiska Hallen during the match, according to campaign organizers and police.

But the chairman of the sports and recreation committee, Bengt Forsberg (SocDem), insisted that there was no political motive behind his party's support for the spectator ban:

"This is absolutely not a boycott. We do not take political positions on sporting events," he told The Local.

"We have made a judgment that this is a high-risk match for our staff, for players and for officials."

Shame on the Swedes - they have chosen the worst solution possible. Wasn't there just a conference on anti-semitism??? I guess the Swedes didn't attend.