The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced late on Thursday that it has fined the Swedish Tennis Federation $25,000 and banned the city of Malmo from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years.
The move came after the city's authorities opted to hold last month's match with Israel behind closed doors. The federation also said in a statement that Sweden would have to pay an additional $15,000, which it would have received in gate receipts had the March 6-8 match been open to spectators.
In addition, the federation told Sweden it would have to provide a written guarantee that future matches would be open to the public.
Sweden is planning to appeal against the decision because of the security threat that existed around the tie. Muslims comprise 32 percent of the population of Malmo, and disrupted a pro-Israeli demonstration in the city during the Cast Lead counter-terror operation. Despite the threat of anti-Israeli outbursts during the match, however, police said it would have been safe to allow spectators. Violent demonstrations did take place outside the arena.