Four members of Table Tennis England have been suspended from the sport following a complex international investigation into match fixing and unusual betting activity in the sport.

Luke Savill, Darius Knight, Joseph Langham-Ferreira and Kazeem Adeleke appeared before the Disciplinary Committee for breaches of the TTE Anti-Corruption Regulations relating to betting on table tennis matches.

How did we get here?

Inquiries 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 British betting accounts.

Table Tennis England collaborated with experts from the SBIU, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and specialist consultants in a lengthy investigation which found that the four Table Tennis England members had a case to answer for a breach of Table Tennis England’s Rules.

The four were referred to the independent Disciplinary Committee on the following basis:

1. Luke Savill, for being a party to fixing table tennis matches played in Ukraine in 2020, being a party to betting on table tennis matches between 2018 and 2020, failing to disclose his knowledge of betting on fixed matches and failing to cooperate with the TTE enquiry.
2. Darius Knight, for being a party to fixing table tennis matches played in Ukraine in 2020, being a party to betting on table tennis matches between 2018 and 2020, failing to disclose to TTE his knowledge of betting on fixed matches and failing to fully cooperate with the TTE enquiry.
3. Joseph Langham-Ferreira, for being a party to fixing table tennis matches played in Ukraine in 2020, betting on table tennis matches in 2020 and failing to disclose to TTE his knowledge of betting on fixed matches.
4. Kazeem Adeleke, for betting on table tennis matches between 2018 and 2020.

The Committee ruled that:

• Luke Savill be Sanctioned (suspended from the sport) indefinitely (for a minimum of six years before review)
• Darius Knight be Sanctioned for six years
• Kazeem Adeleke be Sanctioned for five years
• Joseph Langham-Ferreira be Sanctioned for three years

They have until 8 April 2025 to appeal the decision of the TTE Disciplinary Committee.

A player who is Sanctioned must not:

• Take part in any table tennis activity (either competition or practice) held under the auspices of Table Tennis England at any level (club, league, county or national)
• Sit on (or in) any committee at club, league, county, region or national levels nor help with the organisation of any event
• Coach or assist in coaching at any level
• Umpire any matches or act as a referee at any level
• Spectate at any event / club / training session

The proceedings were also linked to a high-profile criminal case in Australia involving former leading Australian 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 CEO Sally Lockyer said: “We take our responsibilities as a governing body very seriously and ensure we fully investigate any claims of breaches of regulations or code of conducts.

“This was a complex case with international connections. We worked in conjunction with the international federation’s (ITTF) Integrity Unit, SBIU, authorities in Australia and experienced consultants to ensure all facts were presented to the Disciplinary Committee and we would like to thank the panel for their consideration of the case.”

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “This case highlights the importance of global collaboration in protecting the integrity of sport. Over the past five years, stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions have worked together to investigate and address concerns around match-fixing.

“This demonstrates that safeguarding sport is a shared responsibility, and those who seek to manipulate outcomes face increasing scrutiny. The message is clear, integrity in sport matters, and efforts to uphold it will continue.”

Kevin Carpenter, ITTF Head of Integrity and lead of the Integrity Unit, said: “This has been a truly international conspiracy, engaging both sports disciplinary and the criminal law in multiple jurisdictions.

“Upholding the integrity of table tennis globally can only be achieved by collaboration between the ITTF Integrity Unit, table tennis stakeholders, most importantly national member associations, and outside agencies.

“This case has been proof of how those different bodies can work together effectively to tackle one of the preeminent threats to the sport in betting-related corruption, and we commend Table Tennis England for their commitment and perseverance in bringing it to a conclusion.”

Which Regulations were broken?

The TTE Anti-Corruption Regulations set out that “Participation in, support for, or promotion of, any form of betting related to a competition including betting with another person on the result, progress, outcome, conduct or any other aspect of such competition” is a breach of the Anti-Corruption Regulations.

The Regulations state that this “applies to any form of betting related to a competition in which the person is participating, that is otherwise taking place in the participant’s sport or that is taking place in another sport at a competition in which the person is participating.”

There are also sections covering Manipulation of Results and Misuse of Inside Information which specifically reference betting.

Under the Table Tennis England Disciplinary Regulations, “taking any part in betting on table tennis” is a disciplinary breach.

Who are the four players involved?

Darius Knight represented England at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games and was reserve for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has won four Men’s Doubles and three Mixed Doubles titles at the Senior National Championships and was part of Sky Sports’ coverage of the now defunct World Championships of Ping Pong.

Luke Savill represented England at Junior level, winning the Slovakian Junior Open in 2017. He also won the Under-21 national title in March 2020.

Joseph Langham-Ferreira has competed at several Senior National Championships and has played regularly in the Senior British League/British Clubs League, Premier Division, most recently for Drumchapel Glasgow and, before that, Brighton.

Kazeem Adeleke, a Nigerian national, has competed in the British League, Premier Division for Fusion and also competed at the World Championships of Ping Pong at Alexandra Palace.