ITF punishes Sweden

The Swedish tennis federation has been fined $25,000 and Malmo has been banned from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years after the city's authorities opted to play last month's tie with Israel behind closed doors.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) also said in a statement Sweden would have to pay an additional $15,000, which it would have received in gate receipts had the March 6-8 match been open to spectators.

"The (Davis Cup) committee strongly condemned the decision by the city government of Malmo to refuse to allow spectators to attend the matches and the resultant fact the Swedish Tennis Association played the tie behind closed doors." the committee said in a statement on the ITF website

"The fact that over 1,000 police officers from the entire country had been commanded to Malmo and that equipment and cars had been borrowed from Denmark speaks for itself. The Swedish federation still considers it irresponsible and unacceptable that individual local politicians have used Malmo's situation for their own causes. It has hurt the city of Malmo and Swedish sports internationally which manifests itself among other things in this fine by the ITF." - said general secretary Henrik Kallen

More on what took place in Malmo HERE.

~jachal