Cagliari, Italy (SportsNetwork.com) - The International Tennis Federation has banned Tunisia from the Davis Cup for one year after it was found that the country's tennis federation ordered one of its players not to compete against an Israeli opponent.
According to the ITF, the Tunisian Tennis Federation told Malek Jaziri to withdraw from an ATP Challenger tournament in Tashkent last month rather than play Israel's Amir Weintraub.
"There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society," said ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti in a statement Saturday. "The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated by any of our members."
The ITF Board voted unanimously to suspend Tunisia from Davis Cup play for 2014. Tunisian board member Tarak Cherif recused himself from the process.
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