The International Tennis Integrity Agency has found Damjan Dejanovic, a tennis official from Bosnia-Herzegovina, to be guilty of six offenses related to various instances of corruption.
Tennis Official Gets Four-Year Suspension over Corruption
Dejanovic has been suspended from the sport and will have to similarly pay a $5,300 fine. According to ITIA’s official press statement, Dejanovic officiated at the Tennis Federation event with a $15,000 prize pool.
Although Dejanovic admitted betting on tennis matches, he flatly denied any accusations that he had been using his position to manipulate the outcome of the game or stilt the official records to his own benefit.
Regardless, the man will not be able to participate in any tennis event until January 7, 2028, for four years. He was first suspended on January 8, while an investigation was going on. The time he spent suspended since the beginning of 2024 also counts towards his penalty.
Officials in tennis have come under heavy scrutiny with the popularity of sports gambling picking up, and an international coalition of private stakeholders and integrity watchdogs pooling their efforts.
ITIA, in particular, has been particularly successful in detecting and acting against criminal behavior in the sport. Just last year, the organization banned Alexis Musialek, a French professional tennis player, for life, citing 39 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program.
In November this year, ITIA also took action against three Nigerian tennis players who stood accused of various sports betting-related offenses, and specifically – to have participated in a match-fixing syndicate operating out of Belgium.
The case involved fairly small names in the sport, all of whom received suspensions ranging from several months to several years, and additionally received financial penalties. Corruption in tennis continues to be an ongoing problem.
Tennis Continues to Be Vulnerable to Abuse
The International Betting Integrity Association has continually flagged tennis as one of the sports that is the most liable to exhibit signs of corruption. The organization has repeatedly cited the sport as one of the biggest drivers of suspicious betting events, although not necessarily in every report.
Regardless, tennis remains a sport that is susceptible to manipulation, not least because many of the players in the sport are not paid well enough.
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