Squash: Fines for no-show dismissed

By JULIE ASH

Women's squash boss Andrew Shelley says the world's top players will not be fined if they do not compete in next month's Qatar Open.

Shelley says world No 2 Carol Owens, of Auckland, was wrong to say that she would be fined if she withdrew from the event.

"I have no idea where Carol gets the idea of a fine for withdrawal," said Shelley, director of the Women's International Squash Players Association.

"The notion that players might be fined has never been considered."

Owens said she e-mailed the association to ask if fines would still stand.

She received an e-mail back from Shelley which said the tournament would go ahead as normal.

"He never said the fines would be dropped," Owens said. "He just said it would be a normal situation in which you would assume the normal rules would apply."

Under association rules, once players enter a tournament they are committed to play it and they can be fined if they withdraw without good reason.

But Shelley has since said that players would not be penalised for withdrawals over real or imagined concern for their safety in any fallout from the terrorist attacks in the United States.

"We have not attempted to coerce any player to compete. We have simply maintained responsible monitoring with the [British] Foreign Office, the consulate in Qatar and event hosts so that we can appraise players accordingly."

Owens and world No 17 Shelley Kitchen have said they will not compete in the Qatar event, which starts on Wednesday, because they fear their safety cannot be guaranteed.

New Zealand's world No 1, Leilani Joyce, is leaving her decision until the last minute.

New Zealand Squash have said they will send a letter to the world association to support Owens, Joyce and Kitchen in their decisions.

Shelley said: "If we felt the situation was dangerous, either the event would be postponed or we would withdraw."