Slovakian tennis player banned for match fixing offences
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has handed a lengthy ban to Slovakian tennis player Dagmara Baskova as punishment for five match fixing offences.
She was charged with the following two breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP):
D.1.d of the 2017 TACP – “No covered person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any event.”
D.2.a.ii of the 2017 TACP – “In the event any player knows or suspects that any other Covered Person or individual has committed a corruption offense, it shall be the players’ obligation to report such knowledge or suspicion to the TIU as soon as possible.”
Baskova admitted the offences, committed in 2017, and Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Ian Mill QC ruled that she should be prohibited from playing in any sanctioned tennis match for 12 years.
In addition to the ban, Baskova, who held a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rank of 1117 in singles and 777 in doubles, must also pay a fine of $40,000, the majority of which is suspended, with $1,000 payable in 90 days.
This latest incident follows a series of match fixing and betting violation penalties handed out by the TIU last month.
French umpire David Rocher was suspended for two consecutive periods of 18 months and 6 months, as well as facing a €5000 fine, in a case also presided over by Ian Mill QC.
Later on in December Algerian player Aymen Ikhlef was handed a lifetime ban and a $100,000 fine for match fixing, failure to cooperate with a TIU investigation and failure to report corruption.
The TIU was established by the Grand Slam Board, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the WTA to promote and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.
From 1 January 2021, the TIU is reorganising to become part of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), a new, independent anti-corruption body.
Source: SBC News
