ITIA imposes fine and suspension against Croatian tennis official

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the independent body tasked with safeguarding the integrity of tennis across the globe, constantly monitors the vertical and conducts investigations on suspicions about breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). As the governing body for tennis worldwide, the agency imposes penalties whenever it finds breaches of the established rules, while at the same time encouraging members to enhance, promote and encourage the integrity of the sport.

In a recent decision, the ITIA announced a penalty against a Croatian tennis official. The sanction involves Marko Stojanovic, who officiated at ITF tournaments at a national level. The tennis regulatory watchdog confirmed that the official admitted to breaching the TACP rules. A statement released by the ITIA explains that Stojanovic admitted to "15 breaches of the TACP, including manipulating data from matches in which they were an official to facilitate betting."

Considering the breaches, the ITIA imposed a penalty against the national-level official. The penalty involved a monetary sanction together with five years and six months suspension from the sport. The suspension means that Stojanovic won't be permitted to attend or officiate at any tennis event that is governed by members of the ITIA for the duration of the suspension. The list of events and tournaments includes the ITF, ATP, Wimbledon, USTA, WTA, Fédération Française de Tennis and Tennis Australia.

Although the ITIA confirmed the sanction earlier this week, it said that Stojanovic's suspension started on February 19, 2024. The sanction will remain in place through midnight on August 18, 2029, said the tennis watchdog. Besides the suspension, the Croatian tennis official has been fined $25,000. Of that monetary penalty, some $18,750 is suspended, explained the ITIA.

The agency explained the tennis official cooperated fully with its investigation. The imposed sanction was accepted and agreed by Stojanovic after he waived his right to a hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer.

Back in December, the ITIA imposed fines and suspensions against four tennis officials. At the time, the agency confirmed sanctions against Manuel Sperger, an Austrian official, Arsen Movsisyan from Armenia, Givi Khudoiani from Georgia and Edvinas Grigaitis from Lithuania. The officials were found to have breached the TACP rules which resulted in different penalties.

Image credit: Pixabay.com