The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has today confirmed that German tennis player Dario Drebenstedt has been banned from the sport for 12 months and fined $5000 after being found guilty of several breaches of Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP) rules. The offenses all took place at a tournament in Egypt in 2021 and related to an attempt to buy a wild card and attempted corrupt approaches to other players.
The case was ruled on by Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Raj Parker and the sanction means that Drebenstedt is prohibited from playing in or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis between 21 September 2021 and 20 September 2022.
Drebenstedt, who had a highest ITF ranking of 2905, was found guilty of the following:
Attempted breach of Section D.1.k. of the TACP “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, offer, pay or accept any money, benefit or Consideration for the provision of a wildcard to an Event.”
Attempted breach of Section D.1.o. of the TACP “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, solicit, facilitate or incite any other person to commit, attempt, agree or conspire to commit any Corruption Offense.”
Attempted breach of Section D.1.d. of the TACP “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event.”
Two breaches of Section D.2.a.iv of the TACP “A Player shall not dissuade or prevent any other Covered Person from complying with any reporting obligation in Section D.2.”
The ITIA is an independent body established by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.
Published 23 September 2021 09:30
