November 02, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 20, 1428

LONDON, Nov 1: The head of men’s tennis would ban players for life if they are caught in match-fixing.

ATP President Etienne de Villiers told a sports business conference in London on Thursday that tennis was being seriously threatened by match fixing and gambling syndicates. Some players have said they turned down money to lose matches.

“It’s definitely a threat and we take it very, very seriously and the more you can do to tackle it the better it will be,” he said.

De Villiers added that tennis players who are found guilty of doping should be allowed back after serving their punishment. Anyone found guilty of deliberately losing, however, would be thrown out for good.

“I would draw the distinction with doping,” he stated. “We know there are a number of reasons why people get into trouble. A lot of it comes down to accidental or third party influences. We have taken the view that also society takes, that you are allowed to make a mistake, you will serve your punishment but come back into society. The punishment should fit the crime.”

Di Villiers said the same could not be said for anyone who throws a match, especially for financial gains.

“Where it comes down to match-fixing we are categorical. There is no excuse for that,” he said. “You are undermining the integrity of the sport, and destroying a level playing field. As far as we are concerned in tennis, if they are involved in match-fixing they will be thrown out.”

The threat of match-fixing in tennis emerged after a match in Poland in August. The online gambling company Betfair voided bets when fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set, citing a foot injury. Unusually large amounts were wagered on the lowly-ranked Argentine throughout the match, even after he lost the first set 6-1. The ATP is still investigating that match.

Since the Davydenko match, other players have said they have been approached by outsiders trying to influence a match.

Last month, Belgian player Gilles Elseneer said he was offered – and turned down – more than US$100,000 to lose a first-round match against Potito Starace of Italy at Wimbledon in 2005. Arnaud Clement of France said on Monday he turned down money, although didn’t elaborate.

The gathering of sports officials and business leaders also heard outgoing World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Dick Pound, who said some sports were making progress but other federations were still too slow to keep up with the drug cheats.

“We are dealing with 21st century problems with 19th century organisations,” he told the conference. “Out there with many Olympic federations the primary concern of international federation presidents is to be re-elected, not necessarily doing anything. If you want to do something like tackling doping it’s a very complicated deal and I find that most of them don’t have the stomach for the fight.”

Pound said that cycling, and particularly its biggest event the Tour de France, was paying the price for years of avoiding the problem.—AP