French Tennis Official Slapped With Lifetime Ban

November 25, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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A French chair umpire received a lifetime ban on Tuesday, becoming the first official suspended for corruption by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). Morgan Lamri, an umpire on the Futures and Challenger Tours, was banned for life for violating four articles of the TIU’s anti-corruption program. The 22-year-old Lamri violated articles that address betting on matches and match-fixing. He said he was contacted by the TIU a year ago after he worked a couple of Futures events in France.

“I am completely innocent,” Lamri told the Associated Press by phone. “I don’t understand how they can find me guilty without any material proof.”

Lamri, who is still listed on the ATP World Tour and International Tennis Federation as a player, said he talked to several players at a tournament in Saint Raphael, France.

“For me, they were not players, but just really good friends,” said Lamri. “I would eat lunch with them, I talked with them about all sorts of things, such as life, my friends, my family. They think, because I was talking to the players, that I had talked to them about arranging matches. I have never done that. On the contrary, I talked to them because they were friends.”

Lamri claims that he never fixed matches, only bet on games on his own with no corruption.

“I placed bets just for my own amusement,” said Lamri. “I never won money, and it was just for fun.”

The Frenchman refused to hand over bank account information to investigators who wanted to check out any suspicious money transfers.

The TIU, which was formed in 2008, said the lifetime ban is effective immediately.

 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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