The tennis coach received a life ban from the sport after committing a record number of match-fixing crimes. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Long list of crimes
A Chilean tennis coach has been banned for life from the sport after being convicted of a record number of match-fixing crimes. In all, Sebastian Rivera has been found guilty of 64 offenses, the most that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and the former Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) have found for a single person.
Fail to engage meaningfully with the disciplinary process”
With the lifetime ban, Rivera can never participate in or attend any tennis event authorized by the official tennis governing body. This applies to both playing and training. He must also pay a fine of $250,000. Jane Mulcahy, the anti-corruption hearing officer, said it was found that Rivera “failed to participate meaningfully in the disciplinary process.”
Several violations
There were four main areas of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) from 2017 and 2018 crimes Covered. These rules generally prohibit any party participating in a particular tennis event from betting in any way on its outcome.
As a player, Rivera was once ranked #705 in the world before moving on to coaching.
ITIA did not provide specifics, but instead simply quoted sections of the TACP that Rivera violated. They include soliciting or facilitating someone to bet on the outcome of a match, intentionally influencing the outcome of a match, bribing someone to throw a match, or accepting a bribe to compel someone to throw a match.
serious case
Match-fixing in tennis is a problem that primarily affects the lower ranks of the professional circuit. Players often struggle to make money and can be targets for people looking to fix matches. There have been numerous cases of match-fixing in tennis in recent years, highlighting the problems that exist.
ITIA was created in 2021 as an independent body to try to protect and improve the integrity of the game worldwide. A lengthy ban has been issued to many players and coaches recently. One of the most notable offenders was prominent Dutch coach Max Wenders, who was suspended for 12 years in July after pleading guilty to match-fixing offences.
