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Italian tennis stars suspended, fined for illegal betting

The ATP has suspended Italy's top player, Potito Starace, and Daniele Bracciali for betting on tennis matches.

The 31st-ranked Starace was suspended for six weeks and ordered to pay a US$30,000 fine, the Italian tennis federation said in a statement yesterday. Bracciali, ranked 258th, was banned for three months and fined US$20,000. Both suspensions are effective from Jan. 1, ruling them out of the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 14.

The Italian federation said Starace made five bets for a total of 90 euros (US$130) two years ago, while Bracciali made 50 bets of 5 euros each between 2004 and 2005.

It denounced the penalties as disproportionate, saying the players never bet on their own matches.

"Injustice is done," the statement said. "These penalties are absolutely, excessively severe compared to the magnitude of the violations carried out by the two players."

The federation said the two were not aware of the ATP's betting regulations and that they stopped placing the bets as soon as they learned it was against the rules.

The players lamented they were being made scapegoats as the ATP grapples with a match-fixing scandal surrounding the sport.

Another Italian, Alessio Di Mauro, became the first player sanctioned under new rules when he received a nine-month ban in November, also for betting.
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