Roger Federer and Novak
Djokovic
The BBC and Buzzfeed News have published a story alleging
match fixing in tennis. The reports allege 16 top 50 ranked male
tennis players engaged in match fixing. The report has not
furnished the public with the names of the tennis players being
accused of accepting cash bribes to lose matches, which benefits
bookies on the gambling circuit.
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) and separately the ATP have
denied the allegations. World number one, Novak Djokovic, stated
he was offer $200,000 to engage in match fixing, with the offer
being made for him to lose a game in St Petersburg. He declined
the offer. Djokovic stated, "Of course, we threw it away. It
made me feel terrible."
Tennis champion, Roger Federer stated, "I would love to hear
names. Then at least it's concrete stuff and you can actually
debate about it. Was it the player? Was it the support team? Who
was it? Was it before? Was it a doubles player, a singles
player? Which Slam? It's super serious and it's super important
to maintain the integrity of our sport. So how high up does it
go? The higher it goes, the more surprised I would be."
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who is a fan of the
sport and an avid tennis player has called for an independent
probe. Cameron's spokesperson at Downing Street stated,"It is
deeply concerning that another sport is facing such serious
allegations. As with the allegations we have seen in other
sports like athletics and football, the people who suffer most
are the fans. The Prime Minister would want to see these issues
investigated by the independent authorities. The most important
thing is that action is taken in response and the independent
authorities get on with that."
STORY SOURCE
Tennis hit with claims of
widespread match-fixing
18 January 2016 at 10:29am - Tennis has been hit by
allegations of widespread match-fixing at the elite level of the
sport, including Wimbledon, while officials have denied claims
of a cover-up. The names of 16 players have been flagged
repeatedly to the Tennis Integrity Unit over the last decade
amid fears they have thrown matches but no action was taken,
according to a joint investigation by BBC News and Buzzfeed
News. The TIU and the head of the men's ATP Tour have denied any
suspected wrongdoing had been covered up.
Djokovic reveals he was offered
£140,000 to throw match
Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic has revealed he was
offered £140,000 to throw a match in 2007 as the sport faces
fresh allegations of elite match-fixing over the past decade.
Djokovic said "people that were working with me at the time"
were approached with a $200,000 (£140,000) offer for him to
deliberately lose a match at a tournament in St Petersburg. "Of
course, we threw it away right away," the Serbian told reporters
on the day he began his defence of the Australian Open. "It made
me feel terrible."
Responding directly to the latest allegations, Djokovic
suggested the alleged widespread fixing concerned matches
"almost 10 years ago" and players "who are not active any more"
despite claims one top-50 player suspected of fixing is
competing in the Australian Open...
PM calls for independent probe
into elite tennis 'fixing'
View all 4 updates › 18 January 2016 at 12:41pm - David
Cameron has called for an independent investigation into the
"deeply concerning" allegations of widespread match-fixing in
tennis, including at Wimbledon. A Downing Street spokesperson
said the Prime Minister wants to see "action taken" in the wake
of claims that 16 elite players had been reported over fears of
fixing in the past decade.
"It is deeply concerning that another sport is facing such
serious allegations. As with the allegations we have seen in
other sports like athletics and football, the people who suffer
most are the fans. The Prime Minister would want to see these
issues investigated by the independent authorities. The most
important thing is that action is taken in response and the
independent authorities get on with that." – Downing Street
spokesperson
Federer: It's time to name
players suspected of match fixing
Jan. 18, 2016 11:06 AM EST - MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) —
Roger Federer has heard enough speculation about match-fixing in
tennis. If players are suspected of corruption, he wants names. Federer was responding to reports by BBC and BuzzFeed News
published Monday that tennis authorities have suppressed
evidence of match-fixing and overlooked suspected cases
involving players ranked in the top 50, including Grand Slam
singles and doubles winners. The reports said that none of these
players had faced sanctions and more than half would be playing
at this year's Australian Open, which started Monday. The
players weren't identified by name... 
