Six tennis players amongst those arrested on suspicion of match-fixing

01 December 2016 02:39

Thirty-four people, including six tennis players, have been arrested in Spain on suspicion of match-fixing.

Spain's Interior Ministry announced the news, claiming a criminal network had been dismantled.

An investigation began following information from the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) and uncovered 17 allegedly rigged events in Spain and Portugal.

It is estimated those involved made more than 500,000 euros from their alleged activities, which took place on the lower-tier Challenger and Futures tours.

A statement on the Interior Ministry website read: "The Civil Guard, in the framework of Operation Futures, has dismantled a criminal organisation specialised in corruption of tennis sport events in the Futures and Challenger categories.

"The operation has resulted in the arrest of 34 people, six of them tennis players. Among the detainees are the two leaders of the organisation."

A review into tennis' anti-corruption programmes was announced in January following high-profile allegations of match-fixing within the sport.

Tennis' governing bodies have committed to implementing all the recommendations of the review panel, who are expected to announce their findings next year.

Tennis matches dominate the sporting events flagged up by bookmakers as potentially corrupt.

During the third quarter of 2016, the TIU received a total of 96 match alerts, all but two of them on the Challenger and Futures tours, taking the annual total so far to 217.

Source: PA