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Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been handed a two-month suspension following his involvement in a betting scandal whilst playing for Udinese in Serie A.
The 25-year-old was booked during a match against Lazio on March 11, 2024. Okoye received a yellow card in the 64th minute for time-wasting, which initially seemed like a normal incident during the away fixture.
However, investigators noticed unusual betting patterns around that specific booking. They discovered that a close friend of Okoye, who runs a pizzeria in Udine, had placed bets on the goalkeeper receiving a yellow card and won over €120,000, per Foot Africa.
However, the FIGC Federal Tribunal cleared him of those charges, instead imposing a two-month ban for a much lesser issue.
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Although he initially faced a possible four-year ban for sporting fraud, the more serious charges were dropped, and he was cleared of sporting fraud.
Udinese backs goalkeeper Maduka Okoye
Maduka Okoye
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Udinese released a statement backing their player after the verdict. The club said:
The Federal Tribunal of the FIGC has today excluded any involvement of the player Maduka Okoye in sporting fraud, fully accepting the arguments put forward by his lawyers.
The statement continued:
In the courts, all the accusations of presumed sporting fraud were dismissed, and the decision to impose a two-month ban was exclusively with regards to violation of the generic principle of fairness.
Udinese added:
The club is satisfied that the athlete has been totally cleared of the insulting allegations of match-fixing. The club cannot help but reaffirm the maximum support to Okoye.
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The suspension begins with Udinese's first official match of the 2025-26 season against Carrarese on August 18, 2025. Okoye will miss six Serie A matches and return to action on October 18. The club expressed "full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka" throughout the controversy.