Alexis Musialek has been banned from tennis for life by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) following anti-corruption breaches.
The French player was found to have broken 39 Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules between 2016 and 2018. Some of the breaches included actions such as receiving money, benefiting or considering for contriving the outcome of matches, and facilitating other players not to use their best efforts.
Despite the number of breaches, Musialek always denied the charges imposed by the ITIA. However, Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Raj Parker concluded that the French player was involved in nine match-fixing incidences and withheld evidence from the investigation.
"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."
In addition to the lifetime ban, which came into effect on August 5, 2023, Musialek was fined $50,000 for his breaches. Also, the player is permanently banned from coaching or attending any formal tennis events or matches organised by tennis governing bodies.
Musialek's lifetime ban comes as part of a widespread investigation by the ITIA into how several players have been involved in recent match-fixing cases. The investigation is also being carried out with the cooperation of law enforcement in Belgium and the leader of the match-fixing operation has been jailed for five years.
In 2015, Musialek reached a career-high place in the ATP rankings when he was placed 255th and his highest doubles ranking was 421st in August 2015. However, the 35-year-old has since fallen further down the official rankings and was placed 1983rd in July 2023.
The ITIA has been clamping down on anti-corruption offenders recently after a tennis official was banned for 12 years after knowingly entering incorrect scores. Moreover, a former coach was suspended for six months and handed a $1,000 fine for offering money for wildcard entries into an official tournament.
0 Comments