The world of tennis roared this week with the great victory of a boy of just 19 years old in Madrid. Carlitos Alcaraz, raised the magic box and all the spectators, when after having left Mr. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the road, he quickly beat Alexander Zverev. Of course for Spanish tennis, this player and the way he has broken into world tennis is great news because of his promising future and the projection he can give our sport.
However, and although there are far fewer covers, clicks and visits, it is also important to address a serious problem in this sport, such as corruption. This week we learned that up to 6 Spanish players have been convicted of participating in an important match-fixing plot (up to 14 involved in total). These players have been disqualified from playing or participating in tennis-related competitions for periods ranging between seven and 22 years, as reported by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
This case has certainly been serious and initially it is important to remember that the prosecution initially requested an eight-year prison sentence for all those involved. Finally, he has finally agreed to leave her in just two years in prison after the defendants admitted the facts. The best known Marc Fornell who came to be on the ATP circuit a few years ago.
The Civil Guard dismantled this plot at the end of 2018 in the framework of Operation Bitures, when it dismantled an organization dedicated to fixing tournament matches in the Futures and Challenger categories.
On other occasions, we have already talked about how vulnerable the sport of tennis is to this type of corruption. A sport in which it is not necessary to put many people in agreement, and where the nuances that decide a result are much more subtle than what could be an own goal or a penalty.
In fact, as they have admitted, this network had tennis players who “altered the normal course of the game, letting themselves lose matches, sets, games or points, as illegally agreed, to ensure the outcome of the bets.” Fornell had a great knowledge of the betting sector, and he made them through other users so as not to be detected or at least make it difficult.
The judge has estimated that, by this method, fourteen of them achieved an illicit profit that in total exceeds 3.6 million euros.
In 2020 Fornell, left us an interesting and worrying reflection “I don’t think high-level players are involved, but in Futures I would say there are more tennis players, as the prize money doesn’t generate enough income to continue. So you try to look for alternatives and many do it this way. Some they also only do it to be able to travel their stay in the tournament, and the hotel. However, the fault is not theirs, but the ATP and ITF”.
Possibly, for many this is interpreted as bad news, but far from that, it indicates and helps us trust in justice and that the process works. A five-year process in which the ITIA, the Spanish law enforcement agencies (Guaria Civil) and the betting industry itself have collaborated, through the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).
It is more evident than ever, the importance of establishing compliance policies in federations, clubs, etc., as well as training from the youngest so that they understand that they are gambling all their lives for a theoretical quick money.
The incentive is evident, and doing the right thing is not always a sufficient motivation, which is why convictions like this one help a lot to establish a coercive element and show that match-fixing can end your career in the sport and also with penalties. of jail and important economic fines ta and as affirmed the president of the ITIA, Jennie Price.
ITIA Director General Jonny Gray has stated that it was “one of the most important infiltrations we have seen in tennis by organized crime”.