The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has handed sanctions to a French athlete and a Bulgarian tennis official. Both offenders have been suspended for long periods of time because of previous offenses.

According to the ITIA, the French tennis pro Leny Mitjana has been handed a ten-year suspension because of 11 violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). In addition to that, the player was handed a $20,000 fine.

According to the tennis regulatory body, Mitjana, who has a career-high world singles ranking of 458, was involved in match-fixing efforts. While the athlete denied the charges, Philippe Cavalieros, an independent anti-corruption hearing officer (AHO) found him liable for multiple TACP breaches.

The AHO said that Mitjana is guilty of facilitating wagering, contriving the outcome of matches, influencing other players not to use their best efforts in matches and failing to report corrupt approaches.

The suspension will run from December 22, 2023, to December 21, 2033. During that period, Mitjana will be prohibited from playing in, coaching at or attending any tennis event sanctioned by the ITIA or any national association.

Stefan Milanov Was Suspended for Sixteen Years

A few days later, the ITIA also announced the suspension of Stefan Milanov, a Bulgarian tennis official who also violated the TACP. AHO Amani Khalifa investigated the matter and found Milanov guilty of committing a whopping 17 TACP violations.

For reference, the breaches relate to five matches Milanov umpired in 2021. These included five breaches related to direct or indirect wagering facilitations, five counts of scoring data delay or manipulation, five violations relating to direct or indirect attempts to conspire to commit a corruption offense and two failures to cooperate with the ITIA investigation.

A national-level official, Milanov failed to respond to the allegations, which the ITIA considers to constitute an admission of liability. He was therefore suspended for 16 years and slapped with a $75,000 fine.

As a result, Milanov will now be unable to officiate at or attend any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by members of the ITIA or any national association. The official sanction will run from December 28, 2023, to December 27, 2039.

Previously, the ITIA handed a 10-year suspension to the Slovenian tennis umpire Marko Ducman who also violated the TACP.

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The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), a body seeking to protect tennis from fraud and match manipulation, has confirmed that it has handed a provisional suspension to the French tennis player Maxence Broville. According to the announcement, the ITIA will consider the player’s recent Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) charges.

The ITIA dated the suspension to June 20, 2023, temporarily prohibiting the athlete from competing in or attending any tennis event sanctioned by tennis governing bodies.

Providing more details about the suspension, the ITIA noted that Maxence Broville has failed to comply with a demand from the agency. In addition, the ITIA pointed out that Broville may have committed a major offense of the TACP.

As outlined in the TACP:

There is a likelihood that the Covered Person has committed a Major Offense and in the absence of a Provisional Suspension, the integrity of tennis would be undermined and the harm resulting from the absence of a Provisional Suspension outweighs the Hardship of the Provisional Suspension on the Covered Person.

TACP Section F.3.b.i.4

The ITIA added that Broville has tried to appeal against the imposition of the provisional suspension. However, an unidentified anti-corruption hearing officer rejected the appeal on September 5, 2023, the ITIA noted.

The ITIA Continues to Protect the Tennis Sector from Fraud

The ITIA is an independent body that seeks to protect the integrity of the tennis sector. A month ago, it imposed another sanction on another French player, namely Alexis Musialek. Musialek was banned for life because of serious and repeated violations of the TACP.

According to the ITIA, “the 35-year-old was found to have – among other offenses – contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches.”

In early August, the ITIA banned 3 other players over similar breaches, namely Timur Khabibulin, Sanjar Fayziev and Igor Smilansky. The three conspired together and manipulated matches, committing varying TACP offenses.

A few days earlier, the watchdog also had to suspend Percy Flores, a tennis white badge umpire from Bolivia, who will be unable to participate in sanctioned games for 12 years.

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The globally-recognized tennis integrity body, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), confirmed Thursday it imposed a tough sanction against a player that was found to have breached the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). Judging by a statement released by the Agency, Alexis Musialek, a French professional tennis player, was banned from the sport for life after breaches related to match-fixing.

The professional tennis player who had the highest ATP singles ranking of 255 in 2015 initially denied all charges against him. However, an investigation led by Raj Parker, an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO), uncovered that Musialek was involved in match-fixing of nine matches between 2016 and 2018. Additionally, it was determined that the French player failed to cooperate with ITIA’s probe and withheld evidence.

Overall, according to ITIA, Musialek was involved in a total of 39 breaches of the TACP rules. According to the Agency: “The 35-year-old was found to have – among other offenses – contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches.” The integrity watchdog also said that Musialek engaged with other players, encouraging them “not to use their best efforts.”

In light of the uncovered breaches, the French tennis player received a lifetime ban from the sport. Additionally, a hefty $50,000 fine was imposed against him. Although it was announced this week, the sanction was in effect as of August 5, 2023, the ITIA confirmed.

The lifetime ban means that Musialek won’t be permitted to play or coach at any event sanctioned or authorized by the governing bodies of tennis permanently. He is also prohibited from attending such events as well.

The Tennis Integrity Watchdog Remains Vigilant

As the independent body, safeguarding the integrity of tennis, ITIA has the authority to implement sanctions which may include fines, temporary or even permanent bans. Earlier this month, the Agency confirmed it imposed provisional suspensions against three players over TACP breaches. At the time, the ITIA alleged that Timur Khabibulin, Sanjar Fayziev and Igor Smilansky were involved in multiple breaches related to match-fixing.

Before that, back in July, the Agency hit the Bolivian tennis umpire, Percy Flores, with a temporary ban from the sport for a duration of 12 years. The tough sanction came after the regulatory watchdog uncovered a whopping 31 breaches of the TACP rules between November 2021 and October 2022.

Again, in July, the ITIA confirmed the launch of a new mandatory integrity education for junior players in collaboration with the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Ultimately, that training seeks to educate and raise awareness about the importance of the sport’s integrity.

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The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed the provisional suspensions of three professional athletes. According to the announcement, Timur Khabibulin, Sanjar Fayziev and Igor Smilansky breached the codes of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) by trying to manipulate the outcomes of games.

The players in question will remain provisionally suspended until their official sanctions have been considered. The decision was made by Janie Soublière, an anti-corruption hearing officer.

The ITIA justified its provisional suspension with the following rule outlined in the TACP:

In the event that the Covered Person is found liable of one or more of the charges against them and sanction is not determined at the same time as the decision on liability, the AHO, either of the AHO’s own volition or on an application by the ITIA, must impose a Provisional Suspension pending the final decision on sanction.

TACP excerpt

As of July 25, the trio can no longer compete or attend any sanctioned sports event organized or recognized by the tennis governing bodies.

The Players Violated the TACP on Multiple Occasions

The ITIA reported that the Khabibulin, Fayziev and Smilansky have career peaks of 753, 253 and 451, respectively.

According to Soublière, the Kazakhstan-born Khabibulin violated the TACP 18 times between 2014 and 2018. The Uzbekistani athlete Fayziev and the Israeli athlete Smilansky, on the other hand, committed 5 and 3 breaches of the TACP, respectively, in collaboration with Khabibulin.

The three players conspired together to contrive aspects of matches for wagering gain. They also failed to report corrupt approaches. In addition, Khabibulin offered money to other players to influence their performance.

ITIA Continues to Crack Down on Fraud

The ITIA is an independent body founded by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis that seeks to identify and protect the sport from fraud and manipulation.

The body recently banned the Bolivian umpire Percy Flores over similar violations of the TACP. The umpire will be excluded from the sport for 12 whole years.

Prior to that, the ITIA teamed up with the ITF to launch mandatory integrity education for players with an active Juniors International Player Identification Number. The program seeks to teach players about the nature of fraud, its nature and its consequences.

In July, the body also sanctioned Mark Philippoussis over violations of the sponsorship rules in professional tennis. The Australian coach had participated in a voiceover where he promoted a gambling operator’s products.

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The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced the suspension of Percy Flores, a tennis white badge umpire from Bolivia. Flores will be excluded from the sport for 12 years over violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

The tennis authority learned that Flores had breached the TACP a whopping 31 times between November 2021 and October 2022. During ITF World Tennis Tour events, the umpire manipulated outcomes for betting purposes by purposely entering the wrong score into the umpire’s handheld device. In addition, he solicited another tennis official to engage in corrupt conduct, the ITIA remarked.

As a result, the umpire got handed a 12-year suspension and a fine of $15,000. Flores’ breaches, anti-corruption hearing officer professor Richard McLaren said, warranted a suspension of 15 years. However, various mitigating factors, such as Flores’ good conduct and admission resulted in the suspension getting reduced.

The suspension was backdated to the start of the umpire’s provisional suspension on December 8, last year. The penalty is thus set to expire on December 7, 2034. During that time, Flores will be prohibited from officiating at or attending any event that is authorized or sanctioned by the official tennis governing bodies.

Flores’ penalty follows the sanctioning of Mark Philippoussis who breached the rules on betting sponsorships in Tennis. Earlier, the organization issued lifetime bans to Nastja Kolar and Alexandra Riley who breached the TACP on multiple occasions.

A Breakdown of Flores’ Violations

As mentioned, Flores committed a total of 31 breaches. Notably, as a covered person, he committed 10 counts of directly or indirectly facilitating or encouraging tennis betting.

In addition, the ITIA reported that Flores committed 8 counts of purposefully delaying or manipulating scoring data for profit.

The umpire also committed 10 counts of being requested to influence or attempt to influence an event. Furthermore, Flores was found guilty of one count of not reporting suspicious activity by a covered person.

Finally, the umpire, as a covered person, was found guilty of incentivizing another person to commit, attempt or conspire to commit an offense.

To protect tennis from fraud, the ITIA just teamed up with the International Tennis Federation to launch mandatory integrity education for players with an active Juniors International Player Identification Number.

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