Frenchman Quentin Folliot, 26, was suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for 20 years after being found guilty of participating in a match-fixing scheme. According to the entity, which announced the punishment last Thursday, 11th, he must also pay a fine of US$ 170 thousand (R$ 378 thousand) and return more than US$ 44 thousand (R$ 238 thousand).
According to the ITIA investigation, Folliot was a central character in a network of players who operated on behalf of a match-fixing syndicate. The tennis player denied 30 charges related to 11 tennis matches between 2022 and 2024, but 27 were maintained after a hearing.
Furthermore, the Frenchman, who reached number 488 in the ATP rankings in 2022, committed 27 violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. He is the sixth player to be convicted in this investigation.
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“The charges included planning match results, receiving money without giving best efforts for betting purposes, offering money to other tennis players, providing privileged information, conspiracy to commit corruption, failure to cooperate with an ITIA investigation and destruction of evidence,” reads an excerpt from the ITIA statement.
During the period of suspension, Folliot is prohibited from playing, training or participating in any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, national tennis federations, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association. As he was provisionally suspended on May 17, 2023, the sanction is retroactive and continues until May 16, 2044, when the tennis player will be 45 years old.
After the suspension was announced, the tennis player published an iconic photo of football player Mario Balotelli, formerly of Manchester City, in which he took off his shirt celebrating a goal and displayed a t-shirt underneath with the words “Why always me?”, in response to the criticism he received.
Folliot, who was once considered a promise in French tennis, last played professionally in March 2024, in Bahia, when he was defeated in the first round of the M25 in Feira de Santana.
