ITIA bans Alexis Musialek for life over match fixing offences

The French tennis player was found to have been involved in fixing nine tennis matches.

France.- The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned the French tennis player Alexis Musialek from the sport for life for a series of match-fixing offences. Musialek, who reached an ATP singles ranking of 255 in 2015, initially denied the charges, but he was found to have been involved in fixing nine matches between 2016 and 2018.

He was found to have committed 39 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP). The ITIA ruled that the 35-year-old had received benefits and had facilitated other players not to use their best efforts. It said he failed to cooperate with the ITIA’s investigation by withholding evidence.

The ITIA said the case was connected to a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in Belgium. A number of players have been implicated while Grigor Sargsyan has been jailed for five years.

Musialek is prohibited from playing, coaching or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by governing bodies of tennis. He has also been fined $50,000.

See also: English FA investigates Lucas Paqueta over potential breaches of betting rules