The Federazione Italiana Tennis (FIT) has banned Daniele Bracciali (pictured) and occasional doubles partner Potito Starace for life for match-fixing. The FIT handed down a €40,000 fine to Bracciali and a €20,000 fine to Starace. The ruling comes following the conclusion of lengthy disciplinary proceedings against the two players, which found that they had altered the outcome of several matches in order to ‘achieve illegal profits through betting.’

The tennis players had been implicated in a match-fixing investigation conducted by Cremona prosecutors earlier in the year. In February, the Sports Integrity Initiative reported that the FIT, after examining initial pleadings submitted by the parties had ‘granted the request of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office’ and suspended both Bracciali and Starace with immediate effect.

On 7 July this year, Cremona’s public prosecutor, who had accused Bracciali and Starace of conspiracy to fix matches, concluded its investigation and gave the two players notice of this development. A few weeks later, on 23 July, following hearings against the two players which had been conducted in June, the disciplinary proceedings against the players by the FIT were formally ended in Rome,. The Federal Court of the FIT at the time released a statement saying that it ‘reserved the decision’ until further notice.

It is understood that the allegations range back to a July 2007 conversation between Bracciali and an accountant, who was arrested in 2011, about fixing a match against Scoville Jenkins. During the same week that the tennis players were suspended, Cremona prosecutors indicted 130 people after the conclusion of a four-year investigation into match-fixing. The indicted included the Italian football team’s manager, Antonio Conte.

According to the Associated Press, the President of the FIT, Angelo Binaghi, said that the federation may sue the players for damages if they’re convicted, despite acknowledging that the duo represented Italy ‘with passion’ in the Davis Cup for many years.