Tunisia banned from Davis Cup for 1 year

[November 02, 2013]  CAGLIARI, Italy (AP) -- The International Tennis Federation has banned Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup after one of its players was ordered not to compete against an Israeli opponent at a second-tier tournament last month.

The ITF said in a statement Saturday that the Tunisian federation was guilty of "interfering with international sporting practice" when it ordered Malek Jaziri to withdraw from his quarterfinal against Israeli player Amir Weintraub at an ATP Challenger tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The ITF said its board voted unanimously to suspend Tunisia from the Davis Cup for one year, with Tunisian member Tarak Cherif recusing himself from the vote.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said "there is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society."

[Associated Press]

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