An independent Table Tennis England Appeals Panel partially upheld the appeals and adjusted the suspensions imposed on four Table Tennis England members by an independent disciplinary committee in March 2025 in relation to various betting integrity breaches.
The appeal panel ruled that simply placing bets on a fixed outcome does not make someone a party to match fixing.
Therefore, the suspensions of the members are confirmed if:
- Luke Savill: Five years (from date of provisional suspension), ending 8 May 2026
- Darius Knight: Four years, ending March 7, 2029
- Kazeem Adeleke: Two years, ending March 7, 2027
- Joseph Langham-Ferreira: Two years, ending March 7, 2027
Read the decision in the first instance of the Disciplinary Committee here.
You will then find the full decision on the appeal panel’s appeal here.
The appeal panel and the disciplinary committee are both bodies that are independent of TTE.
Members of Table Tennis England are reminded that, as part of our anti-corruption rules, they are not permitted to bet on table tennis.
How did we get here?
The investigation began after Table Tennis England received a report from the Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) about a large amount of unusual betting activity around matches held in Ukraine in 2020 linked to UK betting accounts.
The proceedings also related to a high-profile criminal case in Australia involving former Australian top player Adam Green, who admitted placing more than 1,100 bets on fixed matches in Ukraine. That case was concluded in September 2023.
Table Tennis England worked with experts from the SBIU, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and specialist advisers in a lengthy investigation which found that the four members of Table Tennis England had a case for breaching Table Tennis England’s rules.
Proven findings
The final findings of the independent disciplinary process are:
Luke Savill
- Bet on table tennis with Adam Green and the other respondents.
- Used inside information to bet on table tennis matches based on the success rate of his bets.
- Passed on inside information about matches that would be passed on to others, including Adam Green and Darius Knight, for use in betting.
- Adam Green’s activities have not been disclosed to parties affected by the betting.
- Did not participate or cooperate in the TTE investigation or disciplinary process.
Darius Knight
- Shared inside information, including details of matches that would be fixed, with its network of gamblers.
- Bet on the outcome of table tennis matches with his own account.
- Did not cooperate with the investigation and deliberately concealed information from the TTE (and the Disciplinary Committee) that may not have been beneficial to his defense.
Joseph Langham-Ferreira
- Bet on the outcome of table tennis matches with his own account.
Kazeem Adeleke
- Bet on table tennis and was involved in the bets placed through his account.
Which regulations have been violated?
TTE’s Anti-Corruption Rules state that “participation in, support of or promotion of any form of betting relating to a competition, including betting with any other person on the outcome, progress, result, conduct or any other aspect of such competition” is a breach of the Anti-Corruption Rules.
The Rules state that this “applies to any form of betting which relates to a competition in which the person participates, which otherwise takes place in the participant’s sport or which takes place in another sport during a competition in which the person participates.”
There are also sections on manipulation of results and insider trading, which specifically refer to betting.
Under the Table Tennis England Disciplinary Regulations, “taking part in betting on table tennis” is a disciplinary offence.
A sanctioned player must not engage in any table tennis activity conducted under the auspices of Table Tennis England at any level (club, league, county or national), including those below:
- Play or practice competitively
- Serves on (or is in) a committee at club, league, provincial, regional or national level and does not assist in the organization of any event
- Coach or assist with coaching at any level
- Referee at matches or act as a referee at any level
- Spectate at any event/club/training
Kevin Carpenter, ITTF Head of Integrity and Leader of the Operationally Independent ITTF Integrity Unit, said: “This has been a truly international conspiracy, involving both sports disciplinary measures and criminal law in multiple jurisdictions.
“Upholding the integrity of table tennis worldwide can only be achieved through collaboration between the ITTF Integrity Unit, table tennis stakeholders, especially national member associations and external bodies.
“This case has been evidence of how these different bodies can work together effectively to tackle one of the highest-profile threats to the sport in gambling-related corruption, while giving respondents the full opportunity to advance their cases through an independent disciplinary process. We commend Table Tennis England for their commitment and contribution to keeping table tennis fair, safe and clean.”
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