The
International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has sanctioned French tennis
player Alexis Musialek for match-fixing.
The former
world No. 255 in 2015 has been accused of match-fixing, although he has
consistently denied the charges against him. According to the ITIA's sanction:
“[Musialek]
contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or
consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches, and facilitated
other players not to use their best efforts.”
The
investigation was conducted by the Belgian police, who arrested the alleged
leader of a match-fixing racket and sentenced the individual to five years in
jail. Musialek will now be a former tennis player and will be banned from
participating in official tournaments for life
“Musialek,
who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 255 in 2015, denied all
charges brought against them, but was found by independent Anti-Corruption
Hearing Officer (AHO) Raj Parker to have been involved in the fixing of nine
matches between 2016 and 2018, alongside failing to co-operate with an ITIA
investigation by withholding evidence.
“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, and facilitated other players not to use their best efforts."
“This case
is the latest in a series of investigations pursued by the ITIA in conjunction
with law enforcement in Belgium, which has seen a number of tennis players
implicated in match-fixing incidents, and the leader of the scheme jailed for
five years.”
“In this case,
evidence from the Belgian proceedings supported intelligence gathered through
parallel ITIA investigations and industry betting alerts.”
“As a
result of this ruling, Musialek will be prohibited from playing in, coaching
at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing
bodies of tennis permanently. They have also been fined $50,000. The sanction
is effective from 5 August 2023.”
