Sports body upholds ban on badminton players Zulfadli and Tan
The careers of Zulfadli and Tan is as good as over as their 20 and 15-year suspensions were upheld by the CAS.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed that the appeals by Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chun Seang to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the decision of the BWF Ethics Hearing Panel in April 2019 have been dismissed.
BWF in a statement said the Ethics Hearing Panel rendered its decision on April 27, 2018 banning Zulfadli from competitive events and performing any role in badminton for 20 years.
The panel also ordered Zulfadli to pay a fine of US$25,000 (RM98,162), while Tan received a 15-year ban and a fine of US$15,000 (RM58,897).
“The BWF is satisfied that CAS has come to the same conclusions as the independent Ethics Hearing Panel in rendering its decision on the appeal,” the statement said.
The careers of the former world junior champion and the former national player are as good as over after their suspensions for breaching the BWF Code of Conduct in Relation to Betting, Wagering and Irregular Match Results has been upheld by the CAS.
In reaching their decision, the three-member independent panel found that Tan committed 26 violations of the 2012 Code of Conduct in Relation to Betting Wagering and Irregular Match Results.
While Zulfadli committed 27 violations of the 2012 Code of Conduct in Relation to Betting Wagering and Irregular Match Results and four violations of the 2016 Code of Conduct in Relation to Betting Wagering and Irregular Match Results.
The independent panel noted both players “engaged in corrupted offences over a significant period and a significant number of tournaments” dating back to 2013 but that Zulfadli had “committed more violations over a longer time frame than Tan” and had “been proven to have manipulated the results of four matches”.
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The suspensions began from January 12, 2018 – the date in which both players were provisionally suspended by the BWF.