Tennis umpire given lifetime ban for manipulating the scoring of matches

A tennis umpire has been slapped with a lifetime ban for committing one of sport's cardinal sins.

The official-in-question has been found guilty of manipulating the scoring of tennis matches – managing to do so with a handheld device.

Yes, some sort of handheld device while watching the match from his chair.

Alamy

Tennis officials first caught wind of the scandal in 2019 with a bloke named Fabián Carrero landing on their radar.

Less than four years later, Carrero has stood trial and been found guilty of 16 breaches of tennis' anti-corruption program.

It's understood he committed these fraudulent acts across eight matches in the Dominican Republic between November and December of 2019.

A report from ESPN suggests he managed to manipulate the scoring of competitions by using a handheld device.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency said in a statement that the piece of equipment was utilised to "to facilitate guaranteed betting wins on specific points".

After being handed a lifetime ban, Carrero can no longer officiate in any tennis events.

On top of that, he is barred from attending events organised by tennis' major governing bodies.