page_title: Fantoni and Nunes cheating scandal
hierarchical_section_title: Fantoni and Nunes cheating scandal
caption_attribution_description: Monaco Fantoni Fulvio
context_page_description: Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes are professional bridge players originally from Italy, but since 2011 playing for Monaco. In 2015, they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively.
  In September 2015, they were publicly accused of cheating by orienting a played card to show a missing high honour in the led suit at the European Bridge Championship in 2014. Three separate investigations were conducted, one by the Italian Bridge Federation, one by the European Bridge League and one by the American Contract Bridge League.
  On March 19, 2016, the FIGB banned the pair for three years. The FIGB hearing also investigated cheating by Fantoni and Nunes against Italy in the finals of the Bermuda Bowl in 2013 using the same method. Fantoni and Nunes appealed this ruling to both the FIGB and the Italian Olympic Committee; the appeals were rejected. On July 2018 FIGB revoked the judgment.
  On July 18, 2016, the European Bridge League banned each from play for five years.
  On July 26, 2016, the American Contract Bridge League expelled them from their league and stripped them of all related masterpoints, titles, ranks and privileges.
context_section_description: Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes are professional bridge players originally from Italy, but since 2011 playing for Monaco.  In 2015, they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively.
  In September 2015, they were publicly accused of cheating by orienting a played card to show a missing high honour (Ace, King, Queen) in the led suit at the European Bridge Championship in 2014. Three separate investigations were conducted, one by the Italian Bridge Federation (FIGB), one by the European Bridge League (EBL) and one by the American Contract Bridge League.
  On March 19, 2016, the FIGB banned the pair for three years. The FIGB hearing also investigated cheating by Fantoni and Nunes against Italy in the finals of the Bermuda Bowl in 2013 using the same method. Fantoni and Nunes appealed this ruling to both the FIGB and the Italian Olympic Committee; the appeals were rejected. On July 2018 FIGB revoked the judgment.
  On July 18, 2016, the European Bridge League (EBL) banned each from play for five years.
  On July 26, 2016, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) expelled them from their league and stripped them of all related masterpoints, titles, ranks and privileges.
  The players' appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the EBL ban resulted in a judgement in their favour in January 2018. Only the ACBL sanction remaines in force, and the EBL publicly stated that they were still barred from all EBL events at least until April 2019  However the Federal Appeal Tribunal of the FIGB subsequently lifted the players' suspension from FIGB events.
caption: Fulvio Fantoni (2014)
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