After Israelis were forbidden from competing, a world squash event was cancelled in Malaysia

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Major tournaments in Malaysia have been cancelled in the past due to the country's refusal to provide Israeli contestants visas.

The sport's governing body announced that a major squash event in Malaysia has been cancelled after the Southeast Asian country refused to issue visas to an Israeli team.

It's the latest example of Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with no diplomatic contacts with Israel except for its athletes.

 

The men's World Team Championship was scheduled to begin on December 7 in Kuala Lumpur, with 26 teams competing.

The World Squash Federation (WSF) and Malaysia's squash federation, on the other hand, said the tournament had been cancelled due to the "possibility that some nations would be unable to compete due to a lack of confirmation on the issue of visas."

 

WSF president Zena Wooldridge said sport officials tried to "push Malaysia's highest authorities to guarantee that all participating teams, including Israel, are able to enter Malaysia and compete."

"It's critical to WSF that no country that wants to compete misses out on the competition."

Countries that participated in a tournament from which Israel was prohibited would be blind to "racism and discrimination," according to Israel's squash association.

The result was reached after the ISA submitted its case to the Swiss Court of Arbitration for Sport.

 

The WSF said the cancellation was motivated by the new Omicron coronavirus type, which it thinks will harm travel to Malaysia.

Because of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, the tournament was shifted from New Zealand to Malaysia earlier this year, albeit Malaysia has yet to open its borders to foreign guests.
Egypt triumphed in the most recent event, which took place in Washington, DC in 2019.

Malaysia, where ethnic Malay Muslims account for over 60% of the population, does not allow its nationals to travel to Israel, nor does it allow Israelis to travel to Malaysia.

 

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah reaffirmed his country's "unwavering support and profound solidarity" with the Palestinian people in a statement commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He also called for an end to Israel's "repeated violence and aggression" against Palestinians, as well as the "systematic oppression and crimes of apartheid."