Former Italian line judge suspended by the ITIA over grave corruption charges

There has been increase in corruption breaches among tennis officials due to multi-billion dollar industry called betting.

Former Italian line judge suspended by the ITIA over grave corruption charges

A Wimbledon line judge (Via Imago)

The Tennis Anti-corruption Program (TACP) in conjunction with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that an Italian tennis official has been suspended for five and a half years. Manuel Guion, the Italian line judge for the ATP Challenger level in focus, has been suspended for multiple corruption breaches.

In an official statement by the ITIA, Guion encouraged tennis betting by manipulating figures on matches he officiated. He also bet on matches and helped Challenger players commit corruption offenses while conspiring with betting networks for gain.

The Italian official after being caught red-handed, cooperated fully during the investigation. However, he will not officiate or attend any tennis tournament or meetings of sanctioned members, which includes Wimbledon, ATP, Challenger, WTA, Australian Open, US Tennis Association, and the Fédération Française de Tennis, during his suspension period.

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Guion’s suspension began in February this year and will end in August 2029. He was fined $6,000 by the ITIA due to his cooperation. Other similar cases have received heavier punishment after denying allegations, which forced the TACP into a thorough investigation that found them guilty.

Reasons behind tennis officials engaging in corrupt practices

Since the introduction of betting in sports, especially tennis, there has been an astronomical increase in corruption breaches by tennis officials and even players. Last year, two cases of tennis officials engaging in betting on matches they officiated, made a tennis scandal.

Marco Ducman, a Slovenian umpire, was slammed with a ten-year suspension for four corruption breaches. The International umpire was said to have bet on matches and manipulated data for betting networks for high gain. He officiated in many Grand Slam and Masters 1000 matches. He was fined $75,000 by the Tennis Anti-corruption Program (TACP).

Tennis-ball-court
Tennis ball (Image via Imago)
Ducman, an international-level official, admitted to four breaches of the TACP, including wagering on tennis matches and manipulating data from matches in which they were an official to facilitate betting.
ITIA explained in November 2023

Another umpire, Marko Stojanovic, was suspended for five and half years for 15 corruption breaches. He also manipulated data from matches to facilitate betting.

The major reason for committing these corruptions for these umpires and officials seems to be money. A few years ago, legendary umpire Giorgio Tarantola said an umpire earned 60-70,000 dollars a year for 25 weeks of engagement and travel. But, with betting data increasing astronomically, these officials will soil their hands for more money.

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