A Spanish tennis competitor, Fernando Verdasco Fernandez, has been barred from playing for a period of one year and ten months due to confessing to manipulating the outcome of a match in 2018.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) verified that Fernandez was charged a penalty of $3,000 for his improper actions, with an additional $5,000 fine held in abeyance, contingent upon his adherence to the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) regulations in the future.
The TACP resolution framework proposal signifies that Fernandez was sanctioned by the ITIA after acknowledging his guilt, rather than following a formal hearing.
Fernandez confessed to receiving financial compensation to intentionally underperform in a match in 2018 and failed to report this incident. His highest ranking within the ATP system was 901.
Fernandez has been temporarily suspended from competition since December 2019. Consequently, he is permitted to resume playing tennis without delay.
Fernandez acknowledged violating three TACP rules, all of which fall under Part D. The first violation involved deliberately playing poorly in a match, while the second involved accepting money in exchange for underperforming.
The third infringement was his oversight in reporting communication regarding match manipulation.
These penalties follow the ITIA’s prohibition of Kyrgyz tennis player Ksenia Palkina for 16 years after she confessed to a string of betting-related transgressions.
These two decisions come after the declaration that Jonny Gray will resign as ITIA CEO later this year.
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