The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has confirmed that Heriberto Morales Churata, a tennis chair umpire from Bolivia has been banned from the sport for six years following multiple breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
Morales Churata, a green badge official, was found to have manipulated scores for betting purposes by incorrectly entering scores into the handheld device at ITF World Tennis Tour events in 2021 and 2022. In addition to the ban, the official has been fined $10,000.
The case was dealt with under the 2023 TACP “agreed sanction” framework. This allows for a sanction to be issued by the ITIA to the official upon admission of the offences, without the need for a hearing. The suspension was backdated to the start of Morales Churata’s provisional suspension on 8 December 2022 and will end on 7 December 2028. During this time Morales Churata is prohibited from officiating at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.
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.
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Notes to editors:
The official was found to have breached the following clauses of the TACP:
Section D.1.b of the 2021 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of any Event or any other tennis competition.”
Section D.1.m of the 2021 TACP: “No Covered Person shall purposely delay or manipulate entry of scoring data from any Event for any reason.”
Section D.2.b.i of the 2021 TACP: “In the event any Related Person or Tournament Support Person is approached by any person who requests the 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 ITIA as soon as possible, even if no money, benefit or Consideration is offered or discussed.”
5 breaches of section D.1.b of the 2022 TACP: “No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting”
5 breaches of section D.1.m of the 2022 TACP: “No Covered Person shall purposely delay or manipulate entry of scoring data from any Event for any reason.”
5 breaches of section D.2.b.i of the 2022 TACP: “In the event any Related Person or Tournament Support Person is approached by any person who requests the 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 ITIA as soon as possible, even if no money, benefit or Consideration is offered or discussed.”
Section D.2.b.ii of the 2021 and 2022 TACP: “In the event any Related Person or Tournament Support Person knows or suspects that any Covered Person or other individual has committed a Corruption Offense, it shall be the Related Person’s or Tournament Support Person’s obligation to report such knowledge or suspicion to the ITIA as soon as possible.”
Published 25 May 2023 18:20
