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Wednesday, 26 December 2007 |
Italian tennis stars Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali banned
Italian number one tennis star Potito Starace and compatriot Daniele Bracciali have both received bans for betting on matches.
Potito Starace, ranked 31 in the world, has been suspended for six weeks from 1 January and also fined £21,400 by the ATP for making five bets back in 2005.
Daniele Bracciali, who is ranked 258, was given a three months ban and fined £14,300 for making around 50 five-euro bets.
And Italian player Alessio Di Mauro was banned for nine months in November, making him the first player to get caught in the current crackdown on betting, however, he has said he would launch an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Italian Tennis Federation (ITF) has come forward in defence of the players and said that the ATP, the governing body of men's tennis, was making scapegoats of the men.
A spokesman for the ITF said: "The penalties are out of proportion with the size of infringements committed by the two players."
And Daniele Bracciali claimed: "We were the sacrificial lambs. That is why they have got upset with us."
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 December 2007 )
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