Malaysia will lift a travel ban on Israelis to allow Chelsea coach Avram Grant and midfielder Tal Ben Haim to travel to the South East Asian nation in July as part of the English Premier League club's pre-season mini-Asian tour.

Rais Yatim, foreign minister said that "although we don't have diplomatic relations with Israel or direct trade with the country, we don't have objections over their visit."

"They are a sports team with two Israeli members.

"We don't see it as something wrong," Rais was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and its citizens must obtain special permission to travel to the country.

The Football Association of Malaysia had said tour organisers would raise the issue with the foreign ministry in order to obtain clearance for the pair.

"We have to look at this on a case-by-case basis. We don't want to mix politics with sports." Rais Yatim, foreign minister

"We have to look at this on a case-by-case basis. We don't want to mix politics with sports," Rais added.

Chelsea, who are contenders for the Premier League title, are expected to play a Malaysian squad on July 29, and are tentatively scheduled to play in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on July 23.

The London club's management last month said they could be forced to cancel the Malaysian leg of their tour if the Israelis were not allowed into the country.

"We clearly could not travel without our top coach. This (tour) is a critical part of training for the 2008-2009 season," Peter Kenyon, chief executive, told AFP.

"It will make no sense to travel without a key member of the coaching staff."

Malaysia's population is dominated by Muslim Malays, but the nation is also home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

Premature celebration

Meanwhile in Israel, premature celebrations by Beitar Jerusalem fans of an imminent league victory robbed the club of a trophy late on Sunday.

Four minutes before fulltime thousands of celebrating supporters rushed on to the pitch as Beitar were leading Maccabi Herzliya 1-0 - a result that would have handed Beitar the league title.

However the referee, who was unable to clear the field so play could continue, suspended the match and awarded victory to Maccabi by default.

"Those people are abnormal and idiots." Arcady Gaydamak, Beitar Jerusalem owner

The behaviour of Beitar fans, well known for their excesses and far-right views, was front page news in Israeli papers on Monday.

"Those people are abnormal and idiots," club owner Arcady Gaydamak, an Israeli-Russian billionaire who plans to stand as candidate for mayor of Jerusalem later this year, said.

In November, the Israeli Football Association banned Beitar fans from two home matches after they booed through a minute's silence in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated prime minister.

Some fans even sang songs praising Rabin's murder by Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist who was jailed for life after he shot the Nobel peace laureate three times in the back following a Tel Aviv peace rally on November 4, 1995.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a prominent supporter of Beitar but has spoken out against the behaviour of his fellow fans, who have been involved in repeated disturbances with followers of Israeli Arab clubs over the years.