ITF bans 2 umpires for life for betting-related offenses
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The International Tennis Federation says Uzbekistan umpires Sherzod Hasanov and Arkhip Molotyagin have been banned for life after being found guilty of betting-related offenses.
The ITF said Wednesday that Hasanov and Molotyagin were found guilty of using a mobile phone to communicate scores of matches which they were officiating to a third party at an ITF Futures event in Tiberias, Israel in September 2015.
It also said the pair delayed putting scores into their mobile electronic devices to allow a third party to place bets on matches in which they were officiating, and manipulated scores by using "fictitious deuce games" while officiating at other ITF Futures events over a seven-month period.
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The ITF's Futures tour is the federation's lowest competition level and has been identified as a major area of concern for corruption in the sport.