Belgian Tennis Slapped With Massive Match-Fixing Scandal as 7 Players Face Severe Consequences

It has been an eventful year of tennis. While fans have been fortunate to witness some intriguing action, controversies, and conflicts have marred the on-court action. From racket smashes to off-court controversies, we have seen it all this year. One such event occurred a few minutes before. It was surrounding the International Tennis Integrity Authority’s actions on seven Belgian tennis players.

The ITIA has had a big role to play, especially this year, to maintain a fair playing field for everyone. As a result, they have come out hard on players not following the codes and ethics. Thus, as many as seven players, are set to face sanctions.

ITIA punishes 7 tennis players

Massive news broke out just minutes ago that seven Belgian tennis players have been suspended from the sport. They admitted to breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) and hence, faced sanctions for their actions.

The players in question were Arnaud Graisse, Arthur de Greef, Julien Dubail, Romain Barbosa, Maxime Authom, Omar Salman, and Alec Witmeur. They were convicted by the criminal court and agreed to sanctions with the ITIA.

It was revealed that these sanctions have relation to a recently concluded criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium. As a result, three players among these, Witmeur, de Greef, and Barbosa have faced provisional suspension for over two years.

While they will continue serving the suspension period, other players have also ended up facing a similar fate. During their suspension, they are prohibited from taking part in any of the tennis activities of the members of the ITIA.

This is not the first time in recent months that the ITIA has come out hard on the players. Last month, a similar ruling proved to have a massive bearing on American tennis.

DIVE DEEPER: 20YO Brazilian Prodigy Victor Bini Punished Brutally as Yet Another Shocking Suspension Rocks the Tennis World

22-year-old American prodigy faces sanctions

In what was an unfortunate blow to the future of tennis in America, tennis sensation, Jenson Brooksby, was slapped with an 18-month suspension. He missed three drug tests in a period of 12 months, leading to the massive punishment.

However, many called it an unfortunate ruling from the ITIA’s end as Brooksby accepted that he missed the 1st and the 3rd drug test. However, he didn’t accept the second missed test and there was a dispute surrounding it.

The hearing went against his favor and the American star will be suspended till early January 2025. Do you think that ITIA’s ruling is fair to maintain the standards of the game? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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