NEWS
16 December 2020
Aymen Ikhlef receives lifetime ban by TIU for match-fixing offences
By Iqbal Johal

Ikhlef, who achieved a career-high ATP single ranking of 1739, has been banned for life from playing or attending any authorised tennis event, after making 10 breaches of the TACP.

Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Richard McLaren found the 23-year-old guilty of four instances of match fixing, two instances of soliciting other players not to use their best efforts, three instances of failure to report a corrupt approach, and one charge of failing to co-operate with the investigation.

This includes breaching D.1d, D.1.e and D.2.a.i of the 2016 TACP, as well as section F.2.b/D.2.c of the 2017 TACP. The Algerian was also fined $100,000 with his sanction coming into effect from 11 December 2020.

He is the latest in a long-line of recent betting rules or match fixing breaching offenders. Last week, French line judge David Rocher was banned from officiating for 18 months after being found guilty of breaking betting rules. While in the last two months, Enrique Lopez Perez, Aleksandrina Naydenova, and brothers Karen and Yuri Khachatryan have all received bans for being found guilty of match-fixing.

The TIU also announced that it will rebranded to become the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) from 1 January 2021. The new independent body will also be responsible for safeguarding the integrity of professional tennis, which will be comprised of independent directors together with the sport’s international tennis organisations.