More trouble for Okoye: Why Udinese goalkeeper is unlikely to be called up for WCQ in March 2025

Italian Serie A club Udinese have submitted their squad list for the second half of the 2024-2025 season following the conclusion of the January transfer window, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye will not play competitive football again this season at club level, with the Bianconeri excluding him from the list of players eligible to feature in the Italian top-flight.

Okoye's involvement in a betting scandal is the reason for his exclusion from the Udinese squad.

Italian authorities are continuing their investigation into the goalkeeper, who allegedly drew the attention of the public prosecutor's office after receiving a yellow card.

The Udine Public Prosecutor's Office launched this investigation following a report from Sisal, a prominent Italian gambling company and payment service provider, regarding a series of bets. 

One of these bets, involving a substantial sum, was connected to Okoye's yellow card during Udinese's 2-1 win over Lazio.

In the 64th minute, the referee issued a yellow card to the Nigeria international for time-wasting, which is considered an early stage for a delay in play.

Okoye has been inactive for Udinese since the start of December as he was recovering from a wrist injury that required surgery.

Considering the fact that his season has prematurely ended, he is unlikely to be named in the Super Eagles' squad list for next month's 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying matches against Rwanda and Zimbabwe. 

Okoye trained with his teammates at Udinese on Wednesday but will not make his comeback from injury against Napoli this coming weekend. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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