The umpires in question are from Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine. They were charged with accepting bribes from the betting companies in order to manipulate tennis matches, which allowed masterminds to place bets already knowing the outcome of the next match point.
Kirill Parfenov from Kazakhstan was banned for life in February last year for using his Facebook account to get in touch with another official in an “attempt to manipulate the scoring of matches,” the ITF said in a statement.
In addition, Denis Pitner from Croatia, was given a year ban in August last year for regularly logging on to a betting account from which bets were placed on tennis matches.
Four other unidentified umpires were laid off while investigations into the matter continue.
“In order to ensure no prejudice of any future hearings, we cannot publicly disclose the nature or details of those investigations. Should any official be found guilty of an offense, it will be announced publicly,” the ITF said.