Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai General Chat

now following up with the previous thread about the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer,..

Read this

"The United Arab Emirates will issue an entry visa to Andy Ram of Israel for next week’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Representative Anthony D. Weiner said Wednesday.

“I’ve gotten the assurance from the ambassador,” Weiner, Democrat from New York, said by telephone, referring to Yousef Al Otaiba, the U.A.E.’s ambassador to the United States.

The decision to grant Ram a visa to enter Dubai, one of the Emirates, comes after the government’s denial of a visa to another Israeli, Shahar Peer, the 48th-ranked women’s player in the world. She was to play in this week’s tournament in Dubai. The WTA Tour did not cancel the women’s tournament, but the Tennis Channel dropped its weekend coverage."

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/sports/tennis/19tennis.html?_r=1&ref=sports

not yet officially confirmed!!!
but honestly, the government need to make up their mind...

quatroporte wrote:now following up with the previous thread about the Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer,..

Read this

"The United Arab Emirates will issue an entry visa to Andy Ram of Israel for next week’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Representative Anthony D. Weiner said Wednesday.

“I’ve gotten the assurance from the ambassador,” Weiner, Democrat from New York, said by telephone, referring to Yousef Al Otaiba, the U.A.E.’s ambassador to the United States.

The decision to grant Ram a visa to enter Dubai, one of the Emirates, comes after the government’s denial of a visa to another Israeli, Shahar Peer, the 48th-ranked women’s player in the world. She was to play in this week’s tournament in Dubai. The WTA Tour did not cancel the women’s tournament, but the Tennis Channel dropped its weekend coverage."

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/sports/tennis/19tennis.html?_r=1&ref=sports

not yet officially confirmed!!!
but honestly, the government need to make up their mind...

Now i'm baffled

I think he has dual nationality. She didn't.

bonk wrote:I think he has dual nationality. She didn't.

yeah probably.. this is the only point that make sense...

but this defeats the excuse given by the government rejecting her Visa for security issues...

so if he holds a duel passport, he will be safe????

quatroporte wrote:so if he holds a duel passport, he will be safe????

Should be, as long as no one knows he's also Israeli.

WTA issues record fine to Dubai Open organisers for barring Israeli...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/fe ... hahar-peer

WTA also considered a question about excluding women's tournament from WTA tour next year.

Probably that's why they opened the visa for the man.

Red Chief wrote: WTA also considered a question about excluding women's tournament from WTA tour next year.

Probably that's why they opened the visa for the man.

Spot on.
WTA threatened to dump Dubai off the roster.

WTA threaten to pull the event from Dubai, good.
The UAE set a very dangerous precedent for its self by banning Shahar Peer from the country.
THe UAE wants to pimp its self to a wide spectrum of sports, tennis, football, F1 racing etc, but if that's the case it's going to have to accept that people from Israel play sport and may at some point be involved.

It was maybe an easy decision to refuse entry to a lowly placed female tennis player, but what about next years UEFA World Club Championships? Liverpool are still in the Champions League and could well be playing in Abu Dhabi next year if they win the tournament, would the UAE stand by its "principals" and refuse entry to Liverpool player Yossi Benayoun ?

From what i understand, local Tournament organisers have been hit with a heavy fine. Part of this will go to compensate Shahar Peer for "potential" lost earnings and prize money.

Poetic justice really.

Smoggie

Yup as I said before, you can't penalise athletes it'sjust stupid, get over it already.

I think the game organizers in Dubai got a $300,000 fine for not allowing the woman player. But you can not raise a flag of a country you believe it does not exists legally I guess this how they look at it. Beside her safety . Have you seen the video of the Israeli basketball ball team when they were entering the stadium in turkey ? it's on youtube, check it out, they got thrown by shoes and bottle of waters, and they had to leave. I guess the same thing will happen if there wont be a security present.


but I guess you got to look at it from a diff perspective other that being a game, I careless but some don't

smoggie wrote:From what i understand, local Tournament organisers have been hit with a heavy fine. Part of this will go to compensate Shahar Peer for "potential" lost earnings and prize money.

Poetic justice really.

Smoggie

they should have kept the ban...........why are there exceptions to law? If a small org like WTA can make UAE kiss it's @ss then wonder how others will do.

I would hardly class the WTA as a small organisation. And as has been said before, Dubai constantly bangs on about wanting to be at the forefront of sporting events and wants to bid for the Olympics, how can you do that when you want to prohibit certain people from entering?

desert surfer wrote:

smoggie wrote:From what i understand, local Tournament organisers have been hit with a heavy fine. Part of this will go to compensate Shahar Peer for "potential" lost earnings and prize money.

Poetic justice really.

Smoggie

they should have kept the ban...........why are there exceptions to law? If a small org like WTA can make UAE kiss it's @ss then wonder how others will do.

It's not the smallness of the organisation, it's the bigness of the bad worldwide PR that Dubai's afraid of.

I was surprised at this opinion - considering the Khaleej Times is a UAE newspaper. Sounded quite level-headed to me.

i have always believed in not mixing politics and sports.

but lets be honest the whiteys have their own standards. they will and can do anything they want. if someone else does the same to them they get cheesed off.

example.

http://article.wn.com/view/2009/01/20/A ... _says_PCB/

the australian cricket team dont want to play in pakistan because it is not SAFE.

now we have a jewish "ugly" betty who wants to play in Dubai. But dubai authorities have said you cant play because of your own safety.

i really dont get it. the authorities have said you cant play, stop bitiching and get on with your LIFE you bloody WOMAN.