Udinese have thrown their full support behind Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye after he was handed a two-month ban by the Italian Football Federation’s Federal Tribunal (FIGC) over betting irregularities, but he was cleared of the more serious charge of sporting fraud.
Okoye was at risk of a four-year ban if found guilty of deliberately picking up a yellow card during a Serie A clash against Lazio in March 2024. This booking coincided with unusual betting activity. However, the tribunal ruled on Wednesday that the 24-year-old had no involvement in match-fixing, instead punishing him for breaching the general principle of fairness.
In a strongly worded statement, Udinese 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.
More Read
“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 (article 4 of the Sporting Judicial Code).”
The club also expressed relief that Okoye’s name had been cleared and pledged their unwavering support for the Super Eagles goalkeeper.
“The club is satisfied that the athlete has been totally cleared of the insulting allegations of match-fixing. The club cannot help but reaffirm its maximum support to Okoye, who is waiting to read the motivation of the sentencing.
“Udinese reaffirm our full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka.”
The two-month suspension will begin from Udinese’s first official game of the 2025–26 season — their Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18. This means Okoye will miss six Serie A matches and is expected to return on October 18 when Udinese visit Cremonese.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
