By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Friday, July 28, 2023
A Bolivian chair umpire will take a seat on the sidelines for more than a decade after committing multiple acts of corruption.
Percy Flores has been suspended from tennis for 12 years and fined $15,000 for multiple breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP), the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced today.
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Flores, a white badge umpire who did not contest the ITIA’s charges, committed 31 breaches of the TACP between November 2021 and October 2022.
The violations included routine manipulation of scores for betting purposes—by purposely entering the wrong score into the umpire’s handheld device – at ITF World Tennis Tour events and soliciting another official to engage in corrupt conduct.
Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer Professor Richard McLaren ruled Flores’ breaches of the TACP merited a sanction of 15 years in accordance with sanctioning guidelines, but applied a reduction of three years’ suspension due to mitigating circumstances—including the umpire’s early admission of the charges and general good conduct during the investigative process.
The suspension was backdated to the start of Flores’ provisional suspension on December 8, 2022 and will end on December 7, 2034.
During this time Flores is banned from officiating at or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
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