Maduka Okoye, the Nigerian international and Udinese goalkeeper, has been handed a two-month suspension by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) following a disciplinary investigation into an alleged betting scandal.
The 24-year-old was penalised for unsporting behavior after deliberately receiving a yellow card during a Serie A match against Lazio in the 2023/2024 season.
Investigators tied the incident to suspicious betting patterns, raising concerns over potential match manipulation.
The FIGC concluded that Okoye “intentionally committed an act” to influence betting outcomes tied to the match, prompting disciplinary action from the National Federal Tribunal’s Disciplinary Section.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, the tribunal declared: “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.”
Okoye’s ban will begin on August 18 with Udinese’s Coppa Italia match against Carrarese and will see him miss the first five Serie A games of the new campaign.
He is expected to return on October 19 when Udinese play away to Cremonese.
Once regarded as Nigeria's number-one goalkeeper, Okoye has faced a dip in form since the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
This latest suspension adds further uncertainty to his future with both his club and the Super Eagles. He has yet to respond publicly to the ruling.
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