Diplomatic tensions among Tunisia and UAE are expected to rise, following UAE’s handball men team decision to cancel a planned game with his Tunisian counterpart next Friday.

This comes after the Tunisian Handball Federation Secretary General, Amir Saadi, said on Friday that Tunisian federation appointed women referees for a friendly match between the two national teams, which is expected to be the reason behind the cancellation of the game.

However, the UAE announced that forfeiting that game and another scheduled for Saturday are due to "technical reasons”, citing the absence of 10 players and injuries of four others. "There was no link with political affairs".

The Tunisian Transport Minister Radhouane Ayara told a local Radio channel on Friday that talks with United Airlines’ representatives will be resumed in a week, pointing out that in case they did not reach any progress “further action will be taken”.

Earlier this month, the United Emirates imposed ban on Tunisian women from boarding on its flights, causing delay in several Tunisian women journeys to the UAE, and some noted that their visas had to undergo additional examination.

In response, Tunisia announced it will ban flights of the United Emirates carrier from landing in its territories, saying they "decided to suspend flights of Emirates Airlines to and from Tunisia until the company can find a suitable solution to operate its flights in accordance with international laws and treaties."

On the other hand, Emirati authorities said "security information" had caused the delays, after lifting the ban on Friday.

"We contacted our Tunisian brothers about security information that necessitated taking specific procedures," Emirati Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said on Sunday.