The 2009 Malmö Davis Cup riots were anti-

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

riots in the Swedish city of

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

against a

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

tennis match between Sweden and Israel on 7 March 2009.

Background

In February, the tennis match was decided by Malmö's red-green city coalition to be closed to the public, a decision that was heavily criticised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Mayor of Malmö,

Ilmar Reepalu Ilmar Reepalu (born 11 October 1943) is an Estonian-born Swedish Social Democrat politician who was the 17th chairman of the municipal board in Malmö from 1994 to 2013. After a professional life as an urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he bec ...

, personally said he thought the game should not be played at all, and the decision was thus considered to be more politically motivated than to do with security concerns.

Riots

In anticipation of protests, around 1,000 police officers sanctioned off a large area around the Baltic Hall tennis stadium to keep protesters and rioters away. A reported 170 truck loads of pavement stones were transported out of the area before the protests, and three schools were closed. In addition, for the first time in history, riot vehicles were brought in from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The match was initially met with protest of around 6,000 to 7,000 anti-Israel demonstrators, with speeches held by the leader of the Left Party,

Lars Ohly Lars-Magnus Harald Christoffer Ohly (; born 13 January 1957) is a Swedish politician, and the former party chairman of the Swedish Left Party. He was a member of the Swedish parliament from 1998 to 2014. Early life and career Lars Ohly was b ...

, who while wearing a Palestinian scarf was seen holding a map of Palestine with Israel eradicated. The demonstrators were joined by several hundred militants of which around 200 to 300 began attacking police with stones, fireworks and paint bombs. The anti-Israel rioters included AFA

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, militant Islamists, organised neo-Nazis, as well as activists from neighbouring countries. Police eventually detained around 100 rioters, arresting ten. An additional eighteen rioters were later identified and put on trial for their part in the riots, with several convictions.

Aftermath

The decision to close the tennis match to the public resulted in Malmö being banned from hosting tennis matches by the ITF for five years. In addition to having to provide $15,000 in minimum gate receipts for the match, the Swedish Tennis Association was fined an additional $25,000. The

Swedish Tennis Association Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

responded by issuing penalties to Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu for his involvement in the event. The protest and riots led to accusations of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

in Sweden. Swedish history professor

Kristian Gerner Kristian Gerner (; born 25 May 1942) is a Swedish historian, author, expert on Eastern Europe and Professor of History at Lund University (since 2002). From 1994 to 2002, he was Professor of Eastern European History and Culture, also at Uppsala Un ...

described the situation as "the worst crisis for Jews in Sweden since the Second World War." A 2012 European Men's Handball Championship qualifier between Sweden and Israel set to be played in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

in June 2011 raised concerns due to the riots, and was considered for moving to another location by Swedish sports authorities. The match was played as scheduled, with a minor anti-Israel demonstration being held.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malmo Davis Cup riots 2009 Davis Cup 2009 in Sweden 2009 riots 2009 in tennis Riots and civil disorder in Sweden Sports riots Political riots 2009 crimes in Sweden Gaza War (2008–2009) Anti-Zionism in Sweden Islamism in Sweden Neo-Nazism in Sweden Left Party (Sweden) Israel–Sweden relations Politics and sports March 2009 events in Europe Protests in Sweden Protests in the European Union 2000s in Malmö Antisemitism in Sweden 2009 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone

Background

Riots

Aftermath

See also

References