Tennis umpire hit with lifetime ban for manipulating scoring in several matches

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The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned a tennis umpire from the Dominican Republic for life after he was found guilty of “multiple breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP)”.

Fabian Carrero committed 16 breaches of the TACP across eight matches in tournaments held in the Caribbean nation in November and December 2019.

The official was originally provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation on March 1, 2022 while the case proceeded. The case was finally heard by independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Ian Mill, KC and it was concluded that Carrero was guilty.

A statement from the ITIA read: “Carrero was found to have manipulated the match scoring in their handheld device to facilitate guaranteed betting wins on specific points in matches at ITF M15 tournaments held in the Dominican Republic in November and December 2019.”

The guilty verdict means Carrero is “permanently prohibited from officiating at or attending any sanctioned tennis events organised or recognised by the governing bodies of the sport”.

As per the ITIA, the official was found to have breached two clauses of the 2019 TACP across eight matches:

D.1.d: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive, attempt to contrive, agree to contrive, or conspire to contrive the outcome, or any other aspect, of any Event.”

D.2.b.i: “In the event any Related Person or Tournament Support Person is approached by any person who offers or provides any type of money, benefit or Consideration to a Related Person or Tournament Support Person to (i) influence or attempt to influence the outcome of any aspect of any Event, or (ii) provide Inside Information, it shall be the Related Person’s or Tournament Support Person’s obligation to report such incident to the TIU [now ITIA] as soon as possible.”

The ITIA – an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide – has cracked down on corruption in the sport over the past few years.

In February, former ATP Tour player Younes Rachidi of Morocco was also handed a lifetime ban after he was guilty of a record-breaking 135 counts of match-fixing.

The 36-year-old was also handed a fine of $34,000 on top of his lifetime ban.

Last year an investigation claims to have uncovered widespread abuse and corruption in tennis that stretches back at least 15 years with a report in The Telgraph stating that “a small group wield tremendous power and have used their influence to silence whistleblowers.

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