French player banned for life on match-fixing charges

James Richardson
Clay court tennis
Tennis balls on a clay court

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has today confirmed that French player Alexis Musialek has been banned from tennis for life after being found guilty of 39 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

Musialek, who attained a career-high ATP ranking of No 255 back in 2015, continues to deny all charges brought against him.

According to the ITIA sanction, Musialek ‘contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches, and facilitated other players not to use their best efforts.’

The case brought against the player was made through an investigation being carrried out by Belgian officials.

Police in Belgium apprehended the alleged ring-leader of a match-fixing racket jailing the party for five years.

Musialek is the latest in a string of players implicated in the investigations and there is good reason to believe he won’t be the last.

The former player will not only be barred from participating in any officially sanctioned events but is also prohibited from coaching or working in several fields adjacent to the sport.

The ITIA announced on Thursday: “Musialek, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 255 in 2015, denied all charges brought against them, but was found by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Raj Parker to have been involved in the fixing of nine matches between 2016 and 2018, alongside failing to co-operate with an ITIA investigation by withholding evidence.

“The 35-year-old was found to have – among other offenses – contrived the outcome of multiple matches, received money, benefit or consideration for contriving the outcome of these matches, and facilitated other players not to use their best efforts.

“This case is the latest in a series of investigations pursued by the ITIA in conjunction with law enforcement in Belgium, which has seen a number of tennis players implicated in match-fixing incidents, and the leader of the scheme jailed for five years.

“In this case, evidence from the Belgian proceedings supported intelligence gathered through parallel ITIA investigations and industry betting alerts.

“As a result of this ruling, Musialek will be prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis permanently. They have also been fined $50,000. The sanction is effective from 5 August 2023.”

Musialek has given no indication on whether he will appeal this decision.

The full decision from the tennis ethics watchdog can be accessed by clicking here.

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