The ITIA has banned Bulgarian tennis umpire Stefan Milanov from the sport for 16 years over corruption-related offenses. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The tennis world has dealt with many allegations of match-fixing involving both players and officials in recent years. The latest action by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which has been leading the crackdown, is the issuance of a 16-year ban against Bulgarian umpire Stefan Milanov for corruption offenses.

ban will remain in place until December 2039

Milanov allegedly violated the ITIA Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme 17 times; some of the offenses relate to Milanov indirectly or directly facilitating other people betting on the outcome of a match. He also allegedly manipulated or delayed event scoring data and did not fully cooperate with the ITAI’s investigation.

Milanov did not issue a response to any of the charges. He can no longer have any involvement in ITIA-sanctioned or authorized events and has to pay a $75,000 financial penalty. His punishment will remain in place until December 2039.

Milanov has already admitted to certain transgressions as part of a separate case and served a six-month ban starting in November 2022 for betting offenses. He had placed wagers on tennis matches that he was officiating.  

The ITIA has been busy with bans in recent months, including the ten-year suspension of French player Leny Mitjana last week.