Maduka Okoye, Super Eagles goalkeeper, has been handed a two-month ban from footballing activities in Italy over his involvement in a betting scandal.
An Italian tribunal gave the 25-year-old Udinese goalie the sanction on Tuesday.
In January, the Udine prosecutor’s office began investigating Okoye over “anomalous bets” on one of the team’s games from the 2023/24 season.
Snai, a betting company, detected unusual gambling activities on its system, with an abnormal number of bets placed on Okoye to receive a booking during Udinese’s game against Lazio on March 11, 2024.
The goalkeeper was then cautioned for time-wasting in the 64th minute, and Udinese won 2-1. The booking, just nineteen minutes into the second half, raised suspicions.
Okoye was under investigation alongside Diego Giordano, a 40-year-old pizzeria owner in the city of Udine.
Reacting to the ruling, Udinese said Okoye’s two-month ban is “based solely on a violation of the general principle of fair play”.
Udinese added that the allegations of “unsporting misconduct” or match-fixing against the goalkeeper were dropped by the tribunal.
“The club expresses its satisfaction with the player’s proven complete non-involvement in the infamous match-fixing theory. The club can only reiterate its full support for Okoye, who awaits the ruling’s reasons,” the statement reads.
“Udinese Calcio reiterates its full confidence in Maduka’s proper conduct.”
Okoye’s two-month ban will begin with Udinese’s first official game of the season, scheduled for their Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18.
He will miss six Serie A matches and return to action on October 18.
