Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been slammed a two-month ban for illegal betting, but was found not guilty of match fixing and gambling rules breaches.
This is significantly less than the feared result of the trial, in which he could have faced up to a four-year ban for sporting fraud.
According to Yahoo sports, Okoye’s controversy started in March 2024 during the Serie A TIM match between SS Lazio and his club Udinese Calcio Serie A TIM at Stadio Olimpico on March 11, 2024 in Rome, Italy.
The situation erupted during the Serie A match between Udinese and Lazio on March 11, 2024, when he was booked for time-wasting with his team leading 2-1 at the 64th minute.
A rush of suspicious betting activity around the goalkeeper receiving a yellow card was flagged to the authorities, who launched an investigation.
They found that most of those bets, which at 8/1 odds allegedly generated over €120,000 in winnings, were based around the provinces of Udine.
Okoye was investigated along with three friends and he was deferred to the disciplinary commission in June 2025.
It was feared he could be banned for four years if found guilty of sporting fraud, but the authorities opted to only convict for the lesser charge of illegal betting.
The two-month ban will start from the opening competitive match of the 2025-26 season, which is the Coppa Italia game against Carrarese on August 18.
He will therefore miss six Serie A rounds and be available again from October 19.
The 25-year-old Nigeria international has 18 caps for the country and moved to Udinese from Watford in 2023.
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