The betting allegations against Nigeria international goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been termed as baseless by his legal representative, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Okoye was arrested alongside two others and allegations of giving tips to a friend to place a bet that he will be given a yellow card in the game between Udinese and Lazio in the Serie A.
He was yellow carded for time wasting towards the end of the game with his team leading by a lone goal margin, a sudden spike in betting related to him getting booked rose suspicion among the authorities who used algorithms to track a friend and another associate of the Nigerian who placed bets on him getting booked.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport the house and locker of the Nigerian at Udinese sports center were searched by the police shortly before Christmas.
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“They didn’t find anything significant for the investigation, just a pair of gloves and some soccer shoes”, his lawyer Maurizio Conti said. He later added: “What were the chances that Udinese would have been ahead in Rome creating the circumstances for a yellow card to the goalkeeper? In fact, in that role they practically only get a yellow card for wasting time”, he concluded.
The allegations have already cost him his place in the team of Udinese as he has been removed from the list of registered players for the second stanza of the season.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
