Basilashvili and Karatsev defend themselves against the Zdf’s accusations

“Nonsense”. This is the answer that the two tennis players cited in a new, alleged betting scandal, Nikoloz Basilashvili, current number 26 Atp and coached for 18 months since 2013, and Aslan Karatsev, number 42 in the world, have given in response to the accusations of the German broadcaster. Zdf, having come into possession of the preliminary documentation of the Itf, the International Federation, on a round of rigged matches. At the center of the investigation there would be the Belarusian coach Yahor Yatsyk and two of his former students, Basilashvili and Karatsev, in fact. According to Zdf, Yatsyk would have paid the two players on a couple of occasions to influence their matches. Under the magnifying glass there would be 5 matches. “These accusations have no basis and I reject them with the utmost firmness – said Basilashvili in a very harsh statement -. I will not accept that my name and my reputation are seriously violated through unfounded and absurd accusations. I therefore ask that such accusations and lies. cease immediately and the public, through the media, must be informed that I totally deny this nonsense. ”

In the hands of lawyers

–

The Georgian tennis player then announced that he had turned to a German lawyer to protect his image. Karatsev, on the other hand, in a nutshell declared that he was not aware of the news: “I have not heard of it. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it will be nonsense “. Meanwhile, the International Agency for the Integrity of Tennis (Itia) has confirmed that the Italian chair referee Francesco Totaro has been provisionally suspended, pending the full examination of the match-fixing allegations. Totaro is an Italian national level referee and his provisional suspension starts from the date of issue, June 22, 2022.