Tennis Integrity Unit Suspends Bronze Badge Chair Umpire Over Corruption Scandal

Published 06/20/2020, 5:20 PM EDT

Chair umpire Armando Belardi Gonzalez who has officiated 2017 and 2018 US Open has been suspended for more than two years. The 40-year-old umpire has been was involved in manipulating the match scores. Also, he did not cooperate in the investigation. On Friday, the Tennis Integrity Unit fined Gonzalez an amount of US $5,000.

But presently, Gonzalez who was also the match official in 2016 Rio Paralympics needs to pay US $1,000 provided he doesn’t get involved in any corruption-related activities.

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In 2018 TIU approached bronze badge chair umpire Gonzalez and warned him regarding his corrupt activities on the professional circuit. But he did not show any cooperation and continued to manipulate scores while officiating matches.

As his delinquencies did not stop, on Thursday TIU barred him from attending and officiating sanctioned tennis events. His suspension from the circuit will continue for the next two years and a half.

Other chair umpires dismissed in tennis

In the past, there have been chair umpires who were turned down from their position. For instance, a few days after the epic Wimbledon 2019 finals between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, chair umpire of the match Damien Steiner gave an interview to the local press in Argentina.

As Steiner officiated one of the best matches in the history of the sport, he happened to share his experiences with the media. When Roger Federer had two Wimbledon championship points against Novak Djokovic at 8-7 (40-15), Steiner felt Swiss maestro will close out the final match and he shared that with the media.

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By doing so, Steiner violated the code of conduct. As the match officials are not allowed to discuss match events without ATP’s permission. Consequently, he was dismissed from his job.

Last year, gold badge chair umpire Gianluca Moscarella suspended from the ATP Tour. He harassed a ball girl during a Challenger tournament in Florence, Italy. He was caught red-handed, as his insensitive words were recorded.

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BREAKING: Chair Umpire Gianluca Moscarella Dismissed From ATP For Harassing a Ball Girl

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.

Tennis Integrity Unit Suspends Bronze Badge Chair Umpire Over Corruption Scandal

Other chair umpires dismissed in tennis

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