MPs to questions tennis leaders over match-fixing allegations: Report

New Delhi: Days after the tennis fraternity was shocked with reports of widespread suspected match-fixing in the sport, the leaders are to likely be ordered before Parliament to explain their actions regarding the controversy.

According to a report in the Telegraph Sport, the Culture, Media and Sport select committee was on Tuesday planning to announce a hearing into allegations that the authorities failed to take formal action against all the players suspected of corruption during the past decade in tennis – including at Wimbledon.

The Conservative MP Damian Collins, a leading member of the CMS select committee, told Tele­graph Sport: “It would be good for tennis to come forward to the select committee to explain what it’s doing to address these terrible match-fixing allegations and to combat the problem as a whole.”

The tennis world was rocked by allegations of match fixing on Sunday after the BBC and online BuzzFeed News made secret files public on Day 1 of the year's first major.

The report suggests match-fixing exists higher up the food chain, including at Wimbledon, and could involve players currently competing at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The report did not present any evidence of match-rigging. However, it said 16 players who had been ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the TIU over suspicions that they had thrown matches in the past decade, but that none had been suspended, let alone banned.

(With Agency inputs)