BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Francesco Ritti Bitti, the president of the International Tennis Federation, believes that the decision to hold the Sweden vs. Israel Davis Cup behind closed doors in the Swedish city of Malmo was "politically inspired," and said that the ITF probably will re-write the rules governing Davis Cup participation in the wake of the developing scandal.
The tie currently stands at one match apiece, after two grueling, five-set matches capped by Dudi Sela's 11-9 in the fifth win over Andreas Vinceguerra, with massive demonstrations by anti-Israel protesters scheduled for tomorrow in Malmo, a city with a large Muslim population.
In an exclusive interview with TENNIS.com, Ricci Bitti stopped short of expressing regret for not intervening to force the Swedish federation to move the tie, possibly to neutral ground. He added that the ITF did urge its Sweden to move the tie, or ensure that fans could attend, but was unsuccessful. "Not all federations are effective organizations," he said. "They are scared to have consequences. They were, like us, comfortable with the situation up to a point, but we wasted a lot of time and were left with not enough time to explore options."
The crisis took the Davis Cup establishment by surprise. Soon after the Swedish federation awarded the tie to Malmo, local police filed the required security report, assuring the ITF that adequate security would be in place for the tie. But behind the scenes maneuvering led a faction of the Malmo city fathers to decide that they could not provide the required security, and voted to host the tie behind closed doors. How were the Malmo politicans unable to arrange security at the Baltic Hall, which has a capacity of just 4007?
"This is the question I have, just like you have. Was this a security issue, or a political decision using security as an excuse?"
Critics say that the Malmo politicians made the decision as part of a concerted effort to humiliate Israel and cast it as a pariah nation that must conduct even its sports business behind closed doors, ignoring the fact that the historic mission of Davis Cup has been to foster better relations between nations via sports.
"I'm not one of those people who says sport has nothing to do with politics, but sports should not allow the politicians to use the sport," Ricci Bitti said.
Still, many have questioned the ITF's inability to de-fuse the situation. Ricci Bitti stressed that the Swedish federation itself was manipulated by the Malmo politicians, and did nothing wrong. The federation apparently made an effort to move the tie to Stockholm, but claimed that it could not be done on such short notice, although the tie could theoretically be held anywhere - at a tennis club, or even a public tennis facility with limited seating. "We did not feel we could act against or override the Swedish federation," Ricci Bitti said. "they didn't do anything wrong."
The ITF has the authority to intervene and move a Davis Cup to a neutral site, but it chose not to exercise that option. "We wanted to make sure the tie happened," Ricci Bitti said. "And we didn't feel that the terms (conditions) warranted moving the tie. That choice is for a situation that is not under control."
To many, though, the current situation is not under control. It certainly doesn't appear to be under the control of the Swedish federation or the ITF. Andy Ram, a member of the Israeli team, has criticized the ITF for not insisting that the tie be open to spectators - or moved. "It's sad," Ram said. "Politics won over sports."
Ricci Bitti hinted that there might be serious repercussions when the Davis Cup committee meets in Amsterdam at the end of March. Malmo might receive a de facto suspension prohibiting it from hosting future ties. Other options include imposing a "strict liability" rule (of the kind that soccer clubs are now forced to embrace) that would force the federations to provide adequate security as a condition for hosting ties. "With tighter rules, the federations will be forced to have more responsibility and authority," Ricci Bitti said. "We need to have different rules to avoid this situation in the future.
"I am sure though, that we will not be going to Malmo for Davis Cup any time soon again," Ricci Bitti said.
But that’s cold comfort for an Israeli squad, battling for its Davis Cup life.
Peter Bodo, a senior editor for TENNIS magazine, also writes the TennisWorld blog.