On Friday, a Bulgarian tennis umpire received a lifelong suspension for violating betting regulations 21 times between 2019 and 2023.
According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency, Pavel Atanasov acknowledged charges of gambling on matches, manipulating match score information for betting, and neglecting to share illicit activities.
Atanasov said that he received less than $100 a day for judging International Tennis Federation events of lower calibre during the investigation. He also received a $10,000 fine.
The former umpire is prohibited from attending tennis events by the ban, according to the ITIA. The ITIA wrote in its statement: “In withdrawing from proceedings, Atanasov effectively admitted liability for numerous TACP offences between 2019 and 2023. Including the manipulation of scoring data of matches for betting purposes, facilitating wagering, conspiring to commit corruption offences, wagering on tennis matches, and failure to report corrupt approaches.”
Bulgarian umpire Pavel Atanasov has been banned from tennis for life after withdrawing his appeal for betting-related violations and charges of corruption, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Friday. https://t.co/uOlO1RlAmb https://t.co/uOlO1RlAmb
— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) April 19, 2024
