A Nigerian international has officially been banned from football for two months over an alleged betting scandal.
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Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been handed a suspension at the start of the 2025/26 season, according to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The punishment stems from a yellow card the 25-year-old received during a Serie A clash against Lazio in the 2023/24 campaign.
The caution reportedly raised suspicions due to irregular betting patterns surrounding the incident. Following an investigation, the FIGC found that the German-born shot-stopper had intentionally committed the foul to influence betting outcomes.
“The National Federal Tribunal, Disciplinary Section, definitively ruling, imposes on Mr Emil Maduka Okoye the sanction of two (2) months of disqualification in official matches, starting from the beginning of the first official competition of the 2025/2026 sporting season,” read a statement issued by the Disciplinary Section of the National Federal Tribunal.
The 18-cap Nigerian international will now miss Udinese’s first six matches of the new season, starting with their Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on 18 August.
Udinese has released a statement following the national Federal Tribunal's findings.
“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,” read a statement from Udinese.
“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 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, who is waiting to read the motivation of the sentencing.
“Udinese reaffirm our full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka.”
According to Punch Nigeria, Okoye will also be unavailable for Serie A fixtures against Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Pisa SC, AC Milan, Sassuolo and Cagliari. He is expected to be eligible for selection again when Udinese face newly promoted Cremonese.
The case has raised further concerns around player integrity amid the growing influence of betting syndicates in global football.
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The 10-month ban handed to Italy international Sandro Tonali for breaching betting regulations is another high-profile example in the country, and with the increasing number of rule violations, the FIGC is now likely to clamp down harder on future breaches.
