The International Tennis Integrity Agency (Itia) announced Thursday that it had suspended a French player, former world number 488, for a period of twenty years, after an investigation describing him as a “central figure” in a criminal match-fixing network.
This particularly heavy sanction targets Quentin Folliot (26 years old), identified “as a central figure in a network of players acting on behalf of an organization specializing in match-fixing”, according to the independent agency in charge of the fight against doping and anti-corruption in the world of professional tennis. He is the sixth player sanctioned in this vast investigation.
The Frenchman will not be able to play, train or even attend an official tournament for a period of twenty years. Added to this is a fine of 70,000 dollars (nearly 60,000 euros) and the obligation to reimburse more than 44,600 dollars (38,0000 euros) in alleged illegal gains.
488th at the ATP in August 2022
In total, the man who was ranked 488th in the ATP in August 2022 (his best ranking in singles) was found guilty of 27 offenses, in particular for having manipulated results, received money to slow down during matches, attempted to bribe other players, destroyed evidence or even refused to cooperate with the Itia investigation.
This deliberate obstruction of an Itia investigation, quite rare on the part of incriminated players, is one of the aggravating circumstances explaining the severity of the sanction.
“His wrongdoing was not limited to his own matches, he acted as a conduit for a broader criminal organization, actively recruiting other players and attempting to entrench corruption more deeply in the professional circuits,” the independent judge wrote in his decision dated December 1.
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