The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that two tennis players from Uzbekistan, Temur Ismailov and Amal Sultanbekov, have been banned from the sport, following an investigation into match fixing at a tournament in 2019.
Ismailov, who was already serving a seven year ban after a previous investigation is now banned for life starting 21 July 2021, and has been fined an additional $14,000 . Sultanbekov has been banned for five years, from 21 July 2021 to 21 July 2026, and has been fined $8,000.
Ismailov had a highest ATP ranking of 397 and Sultanbekov had a highest ATP ranking of 1886.
The case was ruled on by Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Janie Soublière and the sanctions mean that the players are prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.
Both players were found guilty of three breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules:
D.1.k “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, facilitate, or conspire to solicit or facilitate any other person to contrive, attempt to contrive or conspire to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event.”
D.1.d “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive, attempt to contrive, agree to contrive, or conspire to contrive the outcome, or any other aspect, of any Event.”
D.2.a.i “In the event any Player is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Player to (i) influence the outcome or any other aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Player’s obligation to report such incident to the TIU as soon as possible.”
In addition, Ismailov was found guilty of D.1.e. “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, facilitate, or conspire to solicit or facilitate any Player to not use his or her best efforts in any Event.”
The ITIA is an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.
