Tennis umpire banned seven years after admitting to match-fixing charges

An Italian tennis umpire has received a seven-year, six-month ban from the sport along with a $50,000 fine after he admitted to charges that he worked to fix matches.

According to the Associated Press, Lorenzo Chiurazzi delayed inputting scores, inputted scores which didn't reflect the actual scores, and failed to cooperate with the corruption investigation. The violations reportedly happened at a tournament in Perguia, Italy in 2021.

The punishment was handed down by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), an upgraded version of the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) that was created in 2008 following allegations of rampant match-fixing.

In 2011, Austrian player Daniel Köllerer was given a lifetime ban by the TIU for fixing matches. Other players to be punished for similar violations include Nicolás Kicker, Karim Hossam, and Diego Matos. Corruption allegations against umpires have been few and far between, though.

Chiurazzi's punishment was back-dated to August 12, 2022, making him eligible to return to umpiring duties in February 2030.