Three International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) umpires have been suspended. The agency issued the suspensions after they were found guilty of betting-related corruption.
Referees Luis Rodriguez, Antonio Sosa and Wellingthon Lopez are accused of corruption. They have all denied the charges, which are said to have been made between 2018 and 2021.
According to the ITIA, they entered false data into match scoring devices to facilitate betting. The entity considered their actions to be violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
Lifetime ban from tennis
In Rodriguez’s case, the professional denied the allegations of the six matches in the Dominican Republic between 2018 and 2020. However, at a hearing in December 2024, he was found guilty of the violations.
Independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO), Richard Young, issued a lifetime ban and a fine of $15,000. The order came into effect on January 21 this year.
“As a chair umpire, he was in an important position of trust charged with maintaining the integrity of the sport. This was not a one-off instance of poor judgment,” Young said.
Prolonged suspensions for corruption
Antonio Sosa also denied allegations related to two matches in the Dominican Republic in 2021. Despite this, a December hearing led Young to uphold the charges, for which Sosa was suspended for five years and fined $3,000.
The suspension was, however, retroactive to 2022. Therefore, Sosa will be eligible to act again from October 2027.
Finally, Wellington Lopez is accused of infractions related to two games also in the Dominican Republic, in 2019 and 2020. Once again, Young confirmed the charges after a hearing in February.
Lopez will serve a four-and-a-half-year suspension and pay a $1,000 fine. In his case, the ban was retroactive to October 2021, making him ineligible until April of next year.
Belgian match-fixing case
The charges come after the ITIA earlier this month also issued hefty sanctions against five more players over their links to a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium.
Yannick Thivant, Thomas Brechemier, Gabriel Petit, Thomas Setodji and Hugo Daubias have all been banned or suspended from tennis. According to the ITIA, each player committed corruption offences during 2017 or 2018.
The organization also confirmed that all the cases are linked to the high-profile match-fixing syndicate led by Grigor Sargsyan.