Udinese head coach Kosta Runjaic has refused to place the blame on Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye for their 5-1 defeat to Fiorentina on Sunday, backing the shot-stopper after he issued an apology for his costly early dismissal, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Okoye was sent off inside the opening eight minutes after a reckless challenge on Fiorentina striker Moise Kean. Although he had made an early save, the Nigerian international rushed out of his area moments later and collided with Kean, prompting referee Maurizio Mariani to show a straight red card without recourse to Video Assistant Referee (VAR), ruling that the offence denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The early dismissal proved pivotal as Udinese struggled for cohesion and control, allowing Fiorentina to capitalise and run out comfortable winners.
The defeat extended the Bianconeri’s inconsistency this season, denying them the chance to record consecutive league victories for only the second time in the campaign. Udinese had been targeting a seventh league win that would have lifted them into the top half of the Serie A table heading into the Christmas break.
In the aftermath of the match, Okoye took to social media to express remorse, posting on Snapchat: “I’m sorry, Bianconeri.”
Runjaic refused to place the blame solely on the goalkeeper but admitted his disappointment with the team’s reaction after being reduced to 10 men.
“We played well in the first five minutes and Fiorentina were struggling, but then we gave them a great gift with the red card,” Runjaic said. “Mistakes happen and we lost a player, but even with ten men you can still put in a good performance and win.”
“I’m disappointed with our reaction. We conceded too much and went into half-time 3–0 down against a team also fighting for points. It’s not easy to come back from that. It’s a shame for our fans, but we’ll try to come back stronger against Lazio.”
Okoye is expected to face a suspension of up to three matches, which would rule him out of Udinese’s final fixture of the year against Lazio on December 27. He is also a doubt for away games against Como on January 3 and Torino four days later.
The incident comes at a time of scrutiny for the goalkeeper, amid reports that he opted out of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations squad in Morocco following dissatisfaction over playing second choice to Stanley Nwabali.
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