ITIA Suspends Mexican Player over Match-Fixing and Failing to Report

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) continues to issue bans to players involved in various instances of match-fixing. After banning several players last week, the watchdog followed up with a ban on a Mexican tennis player, Carlos Ramirez Utermann, who has been suspended from the game for one year and ten months.

The player’s highest career ranking was 1,021 and he admitted to helping influence different aspects of tennis matches in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Similar to other cases, Utermann failed to report that he had been approached by organized crime members who sought to curry favors with him and influence the outcome of matches or at least individual aspects of the games.

Because of this failure, Utermann was found guilty of having breached the organization’s Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

Breaching Two Rules, Getting Leniency in the End

However, Utermann offered investigators full collaboration ensuring that he received leniency in the penalty he received as a result. ITIA specified that Utermann had breached D.2.a.i. of TACP, relating directly to how professional players should behave when approached by match-fixers.

He also breached D.1.d for participating in the scheme that resulted in the match-fixing attempts. As a result of those violations and the rules in question, Utermann will not be able to return to professional tennis until September 11, 2023. He will not be able to attend any event authorized by the governing body, making him a pariah from professional tennis for the designated period.

He will also have to pay a $2,000 penalty with a suspended $8,000 fine provided he does not commit other offenses during that period. Previously, ITIA suspended six Moroccan players, issuing a lifetime ban to one.