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Dubai clarifies on Israeli player Shahar Peer entry


Dubai: The tournament organisers of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships have clarified their stand surrounding the denial of a visa for Israeli player Shahar Peer to participate in the annual event.

"We do not wish to politicise sports, but we have to be sensitive to recent events in the region and not alienate or put at risk the players and the many tennis fans of different nationalities that we have here in the UAE," Tournament Director Salah Tahlak told media at a specially-convened press conference.

Tahlak said that several elements were to be considered concerning her participation here. "Public sentiment remains high in the Middle East and it is believed that Ms. Peer's presence would have antagonised our fans who have watched live television coverage of recent attacks in Gaza," Tahlak's statement read.


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"Ms. Peer personally witnessed protests against her at another tournament in New Zealand only a few weeks ago and concern was raised about her wellbeing and her presence triggering similar protests. Given public sentiment, the entire tournament could have been boycotted by protesters," the statement added.

Tahlak further reiterated that the tournament is a longstanding and loyal supporter of women's tennis and the WTA Tour and that they respect the rules and regulations of the Tour. "The Tournament also respects Ms. Shahar Peer as a professional player on the Tour and understands her disappointment," he said.

If your Israeli then you need a dual nationality
Because UAE does not acknowledge Israel as a country for that many countries dont

Well we have enough long beard ppl around here so lets keep them out LOL

uaekid wrote:Well we have enough long beard ppl around here so lets keep them out LOL

how abt send them to israel for a war or sumthing...lol

Well personally, in the world of professional sport, it really shouldn't matter where you are from.

Is she to blame for what is happening? No! Once again, tarring all people with the same brush for the actions of a few is not fair.

People are people at the end of the day, I don't care if you're white, black, yellow, pink, green or blue, muslim, christian, communist, jedi whatever. If you're good at something and have proven yourself then you should be allowed to compete.

Chocoholic wrote:Well personally, in the world of professional sport, it really shouldn't matter where you are from.

Is she to blame for what is happening? No! Once again, tarring all people with the same brush for the actions of a few is not fair.

People are people at the end of the day, I don't care if you're white, black, yellow, pink, green or blue, muslim, christian, communist, jedi whatever. If you're good at something and have proven yourself then you should be allowed to compete.

hahhha another rubbish take coming from ur mouth choc..

action of few..u mean the leader of Isreal who have been elected by the mojority of Isrealians ..leaders that represent a whole country ..are u calling them few??!!!..it does not matter for u maybe or for ur country ..but it does matter for us .becz isreal killed so many of our brothers and sisters ..thats why she is not allowed to come here and play in the name of Isreal..and who said anything about blameing here..she is representing Isreal not her self ..thats mean if she win Isreal flag will be raised high and they will play the national anthem of isreal in an arab country and at the same time palastains are being killed every day by Isreal ..

hack88 wrote:

uaekid wrote:Well we have enough long beard ppl around here so lets keep them out LOL

how abt send them to israel for a war or sumthing...lol

if we send to isreal they will kick some jewish a$$

Hardly, it's like an ant biting the leg of a rotweiler.

naruto wrote:she is representing Isreal not her self ..thats mean if she win Isreal flag will be raised high and they will play the national anthem of isreal in an arab country and at the same time palastains are being killed every day by Isreal ..

She is representing herself only, not Israel at all....

She could represent Israel on the Fed Cup that have never taken place in the UAE so far.

And Dubai is going for the Olympics? Do you think the governing body will allow an arab country to ban an entire team from taking part - never gonna happen.

Athletes should be able to compete.

good thing she didnt come. sorry but i dont want to see a bombing in dubai happen because of someone like her. i know she is a sportsman but she does represent Israel. Honestly no1 in UAE likes Israel and she would have pulled hatred on her visit to dubai.

good move by the UAE government.

Bad move by the UAE.


Threats to safety, angry spectators and boycotts were among the images created yesterday by the organisers of the Dubai championship as they sought to limit the potentially enormous damage caused by the Shahar Peer affair.

A tournament statement released in the middle of yesterday's play said the decision to refuse a visa to the Israeli player had emerged from security fears, given the deep anger around the Arab and Muslim worlds at the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Dubai's position as a world sporting venue is coming under pressure as a result of the decision to exclude Peer and the problems may increase if another Israeli is barred from playing. Andy Ram has applied for a visa to play in the men's tournament and his lawyer, Amit Naor, said the player is in Marseille waiting to find out his fate. "Andy wants to play, he's not interested in all the other stuff," he said. "He's not looking for trouble, he's looking to play ... we thought politics was already out of sport."

The Association of Tennis Professionals, which runs the men's tour, issued a statement saying it was awaiting "an ­official decision" on Ram's visa. "Clearly this is an opportunity for the UAE to make the right decision," the ATP said. Ram wants to play in Dubai with his doubles partner Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe.

I see it a good move by UAE too...

she will be at RISK if she show up in Dubai or ANY arab country...

its not her fault... she don't represent her government.. however sick minded religion groups will be glad to hunt her down... or atleast she may face angry individuals either at the stadium or when she is out at any of the malls...

its better for her to stay away of trouble during this electrified times...

Chocoholic wrote:And Dubai is going for the Olympics? Do you think the governing body will allow an arab country to ban an entire team from taking part - never gonna happen.

Athletes should be able to compete.

don't worry... if Dubai got the approval for Olympics they will allow the Israili players to play... I have read it somewhere...

however, things may change at the moment due to the political issues in Gaza...

do you remember the World monetary fund (IMF) which was held in Dubai few years ago?? the Israeli group was given permissions to attend in Dubai...

what I am trying to say... Dubai may give exceptions to Israeli's during special occasions.. but this is an individual scenario and I don't see why all this publicity about not letting HER to play in Dubai for security reasons

double post

Dubai always represents itself as the safiest place in the World.
It's a little bit strange to listen that they can't protect the lady...

i dont see why they should let her play. imagine this, she comes here and gets killed. who gets a bad name? dubai does. UAE is another terroist state. lol good thing she didnt come. in a year there are so many tournements. so what if she misses out on one tournement. she is bloody crap. she aint even no1 or even in the top 10. she will loose. so she might as well sit at home

same goes for sania mirza

Security reasons is a lame excuse! Dubai has threats all the time from nutter groups, wanting to blow this or that up and it gets dealt with, we all know that.

I think it's a very very bad move.

rudeboy wrote:i dont see why they should let her play. imagine this, she comes here and gets killed. who gets a bad name? dubai does. UAE is another terroist state. lol good thing she didnt come. in a year there are so many tournements. so what if she misses out on one tournement. she is bloody crap. she aint even no1 or even in the top 10. she will loose. so she might as well sit at home

same goes for sania mirza

exactly...

Chocoholic wrote:Security reasons is a lame excuse! Dubai has threats all the time from nutter groups, wanting to blow this or that up and it gets dealt with, we all know that.

I think it's a very very bad move.

if you think security reasons is a lame excuse!?!?! so what is a good excuse???

yes... Dubai is always under threat... I work for a US chain hotel and we received direct threats few times by unknown sources.. (such things never made it to media anyway)

but she as an individual will be harassed by the public... I am 200% sure she will be in danger *atleast* by angry individuals...

Hardly, it's not difficult to wander round Dubai unnoticed.

Chocoholic wrote:Hardly, it's not difficult to wander round Dubai unnoticed.

ohhh comon chocos...

It's not! Look at the number of celebs that come here all the time and don't get bothered.

Chocoholic wrote:It's not! Look at the number of celebs that come here all the time and don't get bothered.

why do you hang out with Celebs often????

who told you they don't get bothered by fans ?!?!?

quatroporte wrote:

Chocoholic wrote:It's not! Look at the number of celebs that come here all the time and don't get bothered.

why do you hang out with Celebs often????

who told you they don't get bothered by fans ?!?!?

When Mika came here, he insisted on a huge entourage of security and blacked out 4x4's to take him everywhere as he was scared he would be mobbed in the street.

The reality was: no-one even noticed him and he was never approached once! No-one knew who he was or really cared as he is just a talentless, celebrity seeking nobody Freddie Mercury wannabe...but then thats just my personal opinion.

Sports and Politics should not be used together. The Beijing Olympics did not ban anyone and Israelis competed with Saudis (literally) on the same playing field. Politicians use sports as a springboard to pump their mass mind control policies on us all. They are all scared after the Munich Olympics disaster but the security issues were not an issue before the event. The terrorists picked on and killed the Israeli sportsmen, who were so far removed from the political system in their country as possible, but were a visible symbol that could be struck out at.

How wrong is that?

These people are sportsmen and women, not politicians. They can't help where they were born.



Knight

Chocoholic wrote:Security reasons is a lame excuse! Dubai has threats all the time from nutter groups, wanting to blow this or that up and it gets dealt with, we all know that.

I think it's a very very bad move.

so when england cricket team decides to pull out of pakistan because of security reason it is all good but when dubai decides to deny entry to some jew whose name i dont even know, we have a HUGE FUSS from westerners :S.

get the british and australians to play in pakistan and i ll support your debate for allowing this jew to play in dubai. if not toss her

Dubai Knight wrote:

quatroporte wrote:

Chocoholic wrote:It's not! Look at the number of celebs that come here all the time and don't get bothered.

why do you hang out with Celebs often????

who told you they don't get bothered by fans ?!?!?

When Mika came here, he insisted on a huge entourage of security and blacked out 4x4's to take him everywhere as he was scared he would be mobbed in the street.

The reality was: no-one even noticed him and he was never approached once! No-one knew who he was or really cared as he is just a talentless, celebrity seeking nobody Freddie Mercury wannabe...but then thats just my personal opinion.

Sports and Politics should not be used together. The Beijing Olympics did not ban anyone and Israelis competed with Saudis (literally) on the same playing field. Politicians use sports as a springboard to pump their mass mind control policies on us all. They are all scared after the Munich Olympics disaster but the security issues were not an issue before the event. The terrorists picked on and killed the Israeli sportsmen, who were so far removed from the political system in their country as possible, but were a visible symbol that could be struck out at.

How wrong is that?

These people are sportsmen and women, not politicians. They can't help where they were born.



Knight

your point is 100% correct and I agree...

speaking about celebrities and sportsmen... you shouldn't know how the AC-Milan team players such as Ronaldinho, David Beckham where tracked down everywhere... a friend of mine who works in Park Hyatt (where the team stay) told me how fans used to wait outside the hotel gate and follow the players everywhere they go..

Is this about being Israeli or Jewish???

Chocoholic wrote:Hardly, it's not difficult to wander round Dubai unnoticed.

True, but a stadium full of jeering spectators is an entirely different scenario.

smoggie wrote:Is this about being Israeli or Jewish???

Both, I think.