The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has announced a lifetime ban for Bulgarian tennis player Pavel Atanasov from the sport due to multiple violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
At the national level, Atanasov initially contested the charges, but then withdrew his appeal before the independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO).
AHO Chairman Richard Young reviewed the case and imposed a lifetime ban on Atanasov and a $10,000 fine. The official punishment took effect on March 4, 2024.
Atanasov was found responsible for various offenses committed between 2019 and 2023. The offenses included manipulating match results for betting purposes, facilitating betting, conspiracy to commit corruption offenses, and betting on tennis matches and deliberately concealing corrupt practices.
As a result of the lifetime ban, Atanasov is permanently prohibited from participating in or attending any tennis events sanctioned by ITIA members, including ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon and USTA, as well as national tournaments and association events.
This month, the ITIA fined Luis Horna for violating betting sponsorship rules, resulting in a six-month suspended ban and an additional $10,000 fine.
The decision came after it was revealed that Horna had entered into an agreement with the betting operator to provide professional services and promote tennis betting.
According to the provisions of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program: “No Covered Person shall directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting (‘Facilitation’)” and, thus, Horna’s actions were considered a breach.”
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