Majd Affi, a green badge chair umpire, has been banned for 20 years after being found guilty of 12 charges related to events between 2017 and 2020. Mohamed Ghassen Snene, also a green badge chair umpire, and Abderahim Gharsallah, a white badge chair umpire, have both been banned for seven years after being found guilty of four charges related to an event in Tunisia in 2020.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) stated that the charges against the umpires involved manipulation of scores entered into their electronic scoring devices, which did not reflect the actual scores on the court.
As a result of these sanctions, the three individuals will be prohibited from officiating at any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by any international tennis governing body or national association throughout the duration of their bans.
The specific violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) include section D.1.b of the 2020 TACP, which prohibits any covered person from directly or indirectly facilitating wagering on the outcome or any aspect of a tennis event. Additionally, section D.1.d of the 2020 TACP was breached in all three cases, which states that no covered person shall manipulate the outcome or any other aspect of an event.
Affi was also found guilty of violating section D.2.c of the 2017 TACP, which relates to the failure of reporting obligation by any covered person, and a failure of duty regarding section F.2. Another violation by Affi was section F.2.b of the 2017 TACP, which states that covered personnel must fully cooperate with investigations and not tamper with or destroy any evidence or information related to corruption offenses.
Affi’s ban is effective from 6 November 2020 until 5 November 2040, and Snene’s and Gharsallah’s bans are backdated to the date of their provisional suspension and will run from 6 November 2020 until 5 November 2027.
The cases were heard by independent anti-corruption rearing officer Jane Mulcahy QC.
