Tennis umpire Pavel Atanasov has been banned for all times after a Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) probe discovered the Bulgarian responsible of 21 rule breaches. Amongst different offences, Atanasov was discovered to have manipulated scoring information for betting functions and facilitating wagers.
Atanasov initially contested the allegations however withdrew his attraction forward of a listening to with an impartial Anti-Corruption Listening to Officer (AHO). In withdrawing his attraction, the Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company (ITIA) say that the official has successfully admitted legal responsibility.
The rule breaches spanned from 2019 to 2023 and embrace the manipulation of scoring information of matches for betting functions, facilitating wagering, conspiring to commit corruption offences, wagering on tennis matches, and failure to report corrupt approaches.
AHO Richard Younger, who oversaw the case, handed Atanasov a lifetime ban and a £8,000 ($10k) high quality.
Through the investigation, Atanasov mentioned he was paid lower than £80 ($100) every day for umpiring at low-level Worldwide Tennis Federation occasions. He has officiated ITF $15K and $25K tournaments in Bulgaria.
“The Worldwide Tennis Integrity Company can verify that Bulgarian tennis official Pavel Atanasov has been banned from the game for all times following 21 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program,” an ITIA assertion learn on Friday.
It continued: “In withdrawing from proceedings, Atanasov successfully admitted legal responsibility for quite a few TACP offences between 2019 and 2023.
“Together with the manipulation of scoring information of matches for betting functions, facilitating wagering, conspiring to commit corruption offences, wagering on tennis matches, and failure to report corrupt approaches.”
Atanasov will stay prohibited from attending any occasion authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA or any nationwide affiliation. The ban was efficient from March 4 this yr.
The Tennis Anti-Corruption Program’s guidelines state: “No Lined Individual shall straight or not directly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting (‘Facilitation’)” and, thus, Horna’s actions had been thought-about a breach.”
Earlier this month, ITIA fined Luis Horna for “inadvertently” breaching betting sponsorship guidelines. That call led to a six-month suspended ban and an extra high quality of £8k ($10k). ITIA mentioned that, in Horna’s case, no corrupt behaviour was linked to the breach.