ITIA Bans Tennis Player for Life After Breaking 135 Match Fixing Rules

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which was founded in 2021 as an independent body responsible for safeguarding the integrity of professional tennis worldwide, has decided to issue a permanent ban against the Moroccan player after the match-fixing case against him was uncovered. 

Record Number of Offences

The former 36-year-old tennis player, whose highest  ATP doubles ranking was 473 in October 2013, has been permanently banned from tennis after he was found guilty of crossing 135 match-fixing regulations. This marks a new record related to the number of offenses recorded by a single individual to be detected by the ITIA or the Tennis Integrity Unit, ITIA’s predecessor.

The match-fixing case was ruled on by Janie Soublière, an independent anti-corruption hearing officer. She found all 135 charges were proven and imposed a fine worth $34,000 for the “egregious” breaches, on top of the lifetime ban from the sport. 

Rachidi was found guilty of being involved in match-fixing with two tennis players from Algeria who were also recently imposed permanent bans by the same agency. The respective cases were uncovered as a result of law enforcement investigations in conjunction with the ITIA in Belgium.  

TACP Clauses Broken by Rachidi 

The player was found guilty of offenses that were connected to a number of clauses part of the 2017 and 2018 Tennis Anti-Corruption Programmes (TACP). The list included section D.1.d which states that no covered person is allowed to arrange or try to arrange the outcome or other aspects of a tennis event.

Section D.1.e is another section breached by the player. It states that no covered person is allowed to “solicit or facilitate” players to not use their best efforts in any tennis event, either directly or indirectly. Another section that was breached by Rachidi is D.1.f. This clause forbids all covered persons to ask for or accept “any money, benefit or consideration” with the intention to influence a tennis player’s best efforts in an event in a negative manner. 

Rachidi also breached section Section D.2.a.i in the TACP which clearly states that all players who are approached by individuals asking for confidential information on a tennis event or who are asked to influence the outcome of a match in exchange for money and other benefits should report the incident to the ITIA in the shortest time possible. 

Earlier this week, the ITIA also issued a four-year ban on French player Sherazad Refix after she was found guilty of six charges regarding match-fixing.

In January, 26-year-old South African wheelchair tennis player Mariska Venter voluntarily accepted a provisional suspension from the ITIA for violating the agency’s anti-doping program.