Tennis chiefs consider sanctions after Davis Cup fiasco
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Your support makes all the difference.International tennis officials will meet this week to consider possible sanctions in connection with the crowd trouble which led Argentina to forfeit its Davis Cup tie with Chile.
Argentina withdrew from the zonal tie in Santiago after angry spectators threw objects onto the court during Friday's second singles match between Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta and Chile's Nicolas Massu.
The crowd tossed fruit, coins, bottles and other items onto the court, forcing the match to be halted with Zabaleta leading two sets to one.
The Argentine team was escorted off the court by police using plastic riot shields. Zabaleta's father sustained a head injury that required 10 stitches.
Chile's Marcelo Rios had given the home team a 1-0 lead by beating Hernan Gumy in the opening singles.
On Saturday, Argentina pulled out of the best-of-5 competition, and Chile was declared the winner by a score of 5-0.
Match officials had decided to play the remainder of the tie behind closed doors, without spectators, but Argentina refused, saying the safety of its team was not guaranteed.
International Tennis Federation spokesman Alun James said Monday that referee Tony Hernandez would come to London to submit a report Tuesday on the incidents to the Davis Cup Committee.
The Argentine and Chilean national tennis associations will also appear before the committee, which may issue a verdict by the end of the week, James said.
"The committee wants to establish the facts, see whether procedures were followed correctly, analyze the behavior of the Chilean crowd, analyze the actions of the Argentine team in forfeiting the match, and confirm whether the result should stand as 5-0," James said.
The range of possible sanctions includes fines, disqualification or demotion, and withdrawal of home advantage for future matches.
Crowd trouble is not new in Davis Cup competition.
Most recently, Austria's Thomas Muster walked off the court during a doubles match against Brazil in Sao Paulo in 1996. He said fans had been spitting, cursing and throwing objects, and trying to blind him with mirrors.
Austria forfeited the tie, and the Brazilians were declared 4-1 winners.
The Davis Cup Committee upheld that result, fined Muster $8,000 for walking off court and making obscene gestures, and withheld the Austrian tennis association's prize money of dlrs 58,000. Brazil was not sanctioned.
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