World Team Squash Championships: Event cancelled over visa and Omicron concerns
- Published
The men's World Team Squash Championship in Malaysia has been called off because of concerns Israeli athletes will not be granted visas.
The event was due to run from 7-12 December and the World Squash Federation (WSF) also cited "concerns" over the new Covid-19 Omicron variant.
Israel and Malaysia have no diplomatic ties and Israeli passport holders need permission to enter the country.
In a statement the WSF said it did not want athletes to "miss out".
The Israel Squash Association had said it would turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if its athletes were banned, external from competing at the event in Malaysia.
In 2019, Malaysia was stripped of hosting the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships for refusing to let Israelis compete.
In a statement, the WSF said the cancellation came because "some nations would be unable to compete due to the lack of confirmation over the issuing of visas and travel authorisations by the National Authorities".
WSF president Zena Wooldridge said: "I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Malaysia for their unwavering efforts to influence the highest authorities of Malaysia to ensure the ability of all participating teams including Israel to enter Malaysia and compete, without any political discrimination, in accordance with the principles and rules of the Olympic Charter.
"It is important to WSF that no nation who wishes to compete misses out on the event."
In its statement,, external the WSF added it had "concerns" over Omicron which "could have a big impact on the ability of certain teams to travel to Malaysia for the event".
The tournament had already been moved from New Zealand in May because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. No new date or location for the event was mentioned in the WSF statement.
Egypt beat England in the final of the 2019 men's competition.
The event takes place every two years, though the women's championships were cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.