Cleared of match-fixing allegation
Super Eagles goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, has been banned for two months over betting irregularities, but he was cleared of match-fixing, reports football-italia.net.
 
The shot-stopper had been at genuine risk of a four-year ban if the more serious charge of sporting fraud had been confirmed with a guilty verdict.
 
Okoye’s club, Udinese, released a statement affirming their support for the goalkeeper, who has been their number one shot stopper for more than two seasons.
 
Yesterday, the FIGC Federal Tribunal cleared Okoye of the match-fixing charges, instead imposing a two-month ban for a much lesser issue.
 
He had been accused of purposefully receiving a yellow card during the Serie A match against Lazio in March 2024 after a flurry of unusual betting activity around that outcome.
 
“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 regard to violation of the generic principle of fairness (Article 4 of the Sporting Judicial Code).
 
“The club is satisfied that the athlete has been 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 for the sentencing.
 
“Udinese reaffirm our full faith in the correct behaviour of Maduka.”
 
The two-month ban will begin from the first official game of the season for Udinese, which is their scheduled Coppa Italia tie against Carrarese on August 18.
 
That means the goalkeeper will miss six Serie A matches and be back in action from October 18.