Tremendous Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been suspended for 2 months after being discovered responsible of unlawful betting by Italian soccer authorities.
As reported by Soccer Italia on Tuesday, the Nigerian worldwide, presently with Serie A membership Udinese, averted a probably career-threatening four-year ban for sporting fraud.
The problem stems from a Serie A encounter between Udinese and Lazio on March 11, 2024. Through the recreation, Okoye acquired a yellow card within the sixty fourth minute for time-wasting, together with his crew forward 2-1.
Authorities flagged the incident after detecting a surge in uncommon betting patterns, particularly wagers predicting a yellow card for Okoye. The majority of those bets, reportedly positioned at odds of 8/1, originated from the Udine space and are believed to have yielded greater than €120,000 in winnings.
The goalkeeper, alongside three associates, was subsequently investigated, and the case was introduced earlier than Italy’s disciplinary fee in June 2025.
Although preliminary considerations pointed to a attainable sporting fraud cost that would have led to a four-year ban, the fee dominated as an alternative on a lesser offence — unlawful betting.
The suspension will start on August 18, 2025, coinciding with Udinese’s Coppa Italia conflict towards Carrarese. Okoye will consequently miss six Serie A fixtures and will likely be eligible for choice once more on October 19.
Okoye, who has earned 18 caps for the Nigerian nationwide crew, made the swap to Udinese from English facet Watford in 2023.
The publish Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye banned 2 months for illegal betting appeared first on Vanguard News.
