Prominent Italian tennis
players Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace have been suspended
for 40 days with immediate effect in connection with a criminal
investigation into suspicions of betting-related match-fixing,
the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) said in a statement
Wednesday.
The precautionary measure was dictated by the significant
probability that Bracciali and Starace would be found guilty of
the charges against them and by concerns about possible further
offences, the FIT said.
Prosecutors in the northern city of Cremona opened a probe
into the two players in October in the context of broader
investigations into betting-related match-fixing in soccer that
led to the arrest of scores of people, including former Italy
internationals Beppe Signori and Cristiano Doni.
Starace and Bracciali, 36, both served short suspensions
in 2008 for betting on matches that they were not involved in.
Starace, currently ranked the world's 170th player after
peaking at 27 in 2007, was banned for six weeks.
Bracciali, whose highest place in the singles ranking was
49th in 2006, was suspended for three months.
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