Tennis player banned for life for match-fixing

Just as one player bows out from life on the tour so does another, but for completly different reasons!

Daniel Köllerer is a 28-year-old Austrian who reached No.55 in the world, his best Grand Slam appearance was in 2009 when he reached the third round at the Us Open.

Köllerer has been a controversial player, he was accused of racism by Brazilian tennis player Júlio Silva, who filed charges against him after a match on the ATP Challenger Tour at Reggio  Emilia, in Italy, on June 2010. Silva accused Köllerer of calling him "monkey" and telling him to "go back to the jungle", imitating monkey movements. He has also had problems with other players and Stefan Koubek was disqualified from an Austrian league match after grabbing Daniel Köllerer by the throat during a changeover. Koubek said Köllerer insulted him during the match. "I'm man enough not to let myself be insulted, especially not by him," Koubek was reported as saying by the Austrian Times.

The tennis governing bodies ruled in January last year Koellerer had made invitations to other players to fix matches on five occasions between October 2009 and July 2010. He appealed to have the sanction overturned after the Anti Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) found him guilty last May of attempted match fixing. 

Köllerer has been banned permanently from participating in any event organised or sanctioned by any of the four tennis governing bodies ATP, WTA, ITF and Grand Slam Committee.

'On the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties to the CAS, the panel of arbitrators was satisfied the player attempted to engage in match fixing,' a CAS statement read.

CAS did, though, set aside the £63,041 fine which had been imposed on the player.