Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo – innocent in tenis matches manipulating – ear-long investigation by the ATP
Nikolay Davydenko, number six in the ATP ranking.
After years of suspicion and paranoia in tennis, Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Argentine Martin Vassallo can breathe, because the ATP declared them innocent in the investigation by manipulating matches.
“We found no evidence of violation of the rules or by Mr Vassallo nor Mr Davydenko or any other person associated with the party,” said the rector of the men’s tennis in a statement.
Davydenko and Vassallo were investigated during one year by the ATP because of the party disputed that in August 2007 tournament in Sopot. The Argentine won by abandoning the Russian in the third set, but a house of gambling complained that the ATP, Davydenko 6-1 after winning the first set, the stakes for his defeat was increased significantly, to move seven million dollars .
Since then the issue of the “mafias of bets” has been a central issue in tennis, which launched an anticorruption program to preserve its “integrity”. However, months later, and after minor penalties to a handful of players, nearly all Italians, the governing bodies of tennis acknowledged not having found any evidence to doubt the integrity of their sport.
But before reaching that conclusion, the paranoia took hold of tennis. The regulations for 2008 contained in the “anti-corruption program of tennis” requires players to report to any person to make the most casual of the questions.
Vassallo criticized the ATP for this reason: “The policy of terrorism, frighten, caring … I do not feel,” said the Argentine in January during the Australia Open. “Someone comes and tells me: ‘How are you Martin, the mood today?’, And I have to denounce it,” he complained.
The ATP, in recent coletazos the management of the controversial Etienne de Villiers, became the inquisitor of betting, and even claimed that journalists accredited to sign a document in which they undertook to report any suspicious situation.
Thus, the ATP is reviewing its entire policy of accreditations to ensure that no stranger comes easily to the players. On August 22 it was revealed that Jeff Rees, a former Scotland Yard detective who prepared the extensive report ruled out that tennis is corrupt, was appointed as head of the new “integrity unit” of the racket sport.
Rees had won fame by cleaning the corrupt cricket, but the report submitted in May along with his colleague Ben Gunn came to the conclusion that the situation in tennis was far from reaching that level, although he cited 45 parties in the process of investigation.
“We have no doubt that there may be criminal elements involved in corrupt some players or people associated with them. That may even involve criminal gangs, but raise the suspicion to the certainty of a ‘mafia’ is, from our point of view, a distortion of facts and damage to the sport, “read one paragraph of the 66 pages of the report.
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