ITIA shockingly bans six tennis players linked to a match-fixing syndicate
Argentina's Agustin Moyano was handed a lengthy ban of 15 years after he denied the charges and requested a hearing.
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David Guez (Image via X)
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has imposed a ban on six tennis players who were linked to a match-fixing syndicate. On Friday (January 31), the ITIA announced that the players who were suspended were involved in match-fixing activity in 2017 and 2018.
The leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan, previously was handed a five-year custodial sentence. Among the six players, five admitted to breaches. They were David Guez, Jerome Inzerillo, Romain Bauvy, Yannick Jankovits, and Francois-Arthur Vibert.
The sanctions are linked to a criminal case heard in 2023 involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. Collaboration between the ITIA and Belgian authorities led to a five-year custodial sentence for the leader of the syndicate, Grigor Sargsyan.
The ITIA stated
Jankovits and Vibert had requested to approach an independent anti-corruption hearing officer (AHO) to decide the punishment. As these six players faced a ban, they were prohibited from playing any official tournaments and also banned from coaching.
The player who received the lengthiest ban was Agustin Moyano, a 34-year-old player from Argentina, who reached a career-high ranking of 1,343 in 2015. He had previously denied the charges and requested a hearing following which, he was handed a 15-year ban and was fined $10,000. He is suspended from December 2024 to December 1, 2039.
Know more about these players suspended by the ITIA
Jerome Inzerillo, a former World No.354 (reached in 2012), is banned for five years and seven months. The 34-year-old is also fined $50,000 ($35,000 is suspended). He has been suspended from 27 October 2024, and it will end on May 26, 2030.
Former World No.114 David Guez, on the other hand, has been banned from October 25, 2024, to 24 October 2028. He faced a four-year ban and was also slapped with a $25,000 fine of which $17,500 was suspended.
Romain Bauvy reached a career-high ranking of No.758 in doubles in 2016 and his punishment is similar to that of Guez. His suspension, which started on November 6, 2024, will end on November 5, 2028.
Yannick Jankovits, the 38-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of 226 in September 2015, faced a two-year suspension with a $28,000 fine. Francois-Arthur Vibert, 34, on the other hand, was a 591-ranked player, reaching the spot in September 2012.
He is serving a two-year, three-month suspension, and faced a $35,000 fine of which $28,500 suspended. His suspension started on June 12, 2024, and is set to end on September 11, 2026.
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Gouri Das
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