Tennis umpire suspended after calling ball girl ‘sexy’ & ‘hot’

Umpire Gianluca Moscarella has been suspended by the ATP for his controversial behavior at the second-tier Tour Challenger in Italy, which included comments directed at a ball girl.

Moscarella, who was officiating the second-round match between Italy’s Enrico Dalla Valle and Pedro Sousa of Portugal, made several controversial remarks at a ball girl which many have regarded as sexual harassment.

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In a video widely shared on social media, the match official was heard calling the teenager “fantastic” and “very sexy,” among other comments.

"Are you OK? It's hot. Are you feeling hot? Physically or emotionally? Both? You can't handle it anymore," the 46-year-old umpire added.

The ATP launched an investigation into the incident and immediately banned the umpire for violating the code of conduct.

“We are aware of a number of incidents involving chair umpire Gianluca Moscarella during a match between Pedro Sousa and Enrico Dalla Valle at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Florence last week,” the ATP said in a statement.

“Moscarella was immediately dismissed from the tournament when the matter was brought to light, and a full investigation has been initiated. Meanwhile, Moscarella has been provisionally suspended from his services as a contracted ATP Official pending the results of the investigation.”