Italian referee and linesman Lorenzo Chiurazzi has been banned from the sport for seven and a half years, as confirmed in a statement by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). In addition, the ITIA issued Chiurazzi a fine of US$50,000, of which US$33,500 was suspended.
Chiurazzi reportedly committed a series of rule violations at a 2021 tournament in Perugia. The offenses committed included delaying the entry of banknotes, deliberately entering the wrong banknotes, failing to cooperate with the subsequent investigation, and not reporting corruption.
He was found guilty of several counts, breaking several rules of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, including: Section D.1.b which stipulates offenses to the game, Section D.1.m which covers deliberate misrepresentation of scores and Section D.1.d dealing with direct and indirect infringement on event results.
The arbitrator, who admitted the charges, was dealt with under the ITIA’s “Proposed Disposition” process, which allows for the issuance of sanctions without a hearing, as long as errors are admitted.
The ban took effect on August 12 and is expected to last until February 11, 2030. During this period, Chiurazzi is prohibited from officiating or attending any tennis event authorized, or sanctioned by any international and national tennis governmental body.
In July, the ITIA issued referee Francesco Totaro a provisional suspension pending the conclusion of an investigation into alleged match-fixing violations. In the same week, multi-year bans were issued to three Tunisian referees for manipulating tennis scores.
About ITIA
ITIA is the organization responsible for protecting professional tennis from corruption and match-fixing and sports betting around the world. The organization is basically an updated version of the Tennis Integrity Unit being created after an integrity review of the sport.