Israeli tennis player given visa for Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Israeli tennis player Andy Ram will be allowed to play in a premier Dubai tennis tournament after the Arab country said it would permit the 7th-ranked doubles player to enter the country.
The Persian Gulf country banned Israeli woman's tennis star Shahar Peer earlier this week from entering the UAE to participate in the lucrative Dubai Tennis Championships. Organizers said they feared fan anger over Israel's recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip would spill into riots in the Arab country if Peer were to play.
After Peer was barred, the tennis world harshly criticized the UAE for its ban of Israelis, and top past and present women players also came to Peer's defense — including Billie Jean King and Venus and Serena Williams.
Tennis governing officials warned that holding future tennis events in Dubai could be in doubt if the Emirates, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, continued to ban Israelis. And the ATP, which runs the men's tournament, gave the United Arab Emirates a Friday evening deadline to decide whether to grant Ram a visa.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090219/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ten_dubai_israelis;_y...)
So do you think they gave Ram a visa to avoid the fallout from their not giving Shahar one? I'm curious as to their about-face....
np cyn, glad i could help :)
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
Thanks for the update!
cynbob, on yesterday newspaper they were saying that this could be the last tournment on Dubai, don't know what's the present position of the ATP once that they allowed the other Israelli player to participate.
PM: Fully agree with you.
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
What happened? Did I miss something? Who's cancelling?
Do tell.
Cynbob: yeaps, i was just reading that they intended to cancel the tournements at Dubai
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
I guess they saw the light! When big named tennis stars, the WTA and the ATP spoke ---they listened. They care about not tarnishing their reputation any further.
Smart move.