Embattled former Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia, has lodged an appeal against his life ban from the game by world football governing body, FIFA.
The Bayelsa-born ex-Nigerian international was banned for life from the game, following the outcome of FIFA’s probe of match-fixing allegations against him.
Coach Siasia told NAN in Abuja through an associate, Opukiri Jones-Ere, that his lawyers had submitted an appeal against the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Siasia has submitted his statement of appeal to CAS in Switzerland, asking the court to stop FIFA’s decision until his appeal is heard.
“He has galvanised all resources and the deserved courage to clear his name and unchain himself from the FIFA ban which hit him unexpectedly last month.
“He has also vowed to go to the end of his life to show that he is innocent,” Jones-Ere said.
FIFA, had in a statement on August 16, 2019, said the adjudicatory chamber of its independent ethics committee found the 51-year-old Siasia guilty as charge.
According to the world soccer ruling body, Siasia was “guilty of having accepted that he will receive bribes in relation to manipulation of matches in violation of FIFA Code of Ethics.”
Coach Siasia played 51 times as a striker for the Nigerian national team and later handled various national youth sides before his first spell as senior coach in 2010.
His match-fixing case is the latest in FIFA’s long-running investigations into the activities of Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal, whom FIFA has called a “known match fixer”.
Perumal has admitted such activity in several interviews and FIFA said Siasia was banned for life “from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international levels.”
The former Nigerian international was also fined CHF 50,000 (41,997.1 pounds).
Born on August 14, 1967, Coach Siasia handled the National Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles and took them to the finals of the 2005 Under-20 World Cup. He also handled the Under-23 Dream Team that harvested the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics losing to Argentina in the finals.
First appointed to handle the Super Eagles as Head coach between 2010 and October, 2011, Siasia was reappointed in 2016.
In 1989, Nigeria was banned by FIFA for two years from age-grade football competitions over discrepancies discovered in the ages provided by the duo of Siasia and Dahiru Sadi.
The ages were provided while registering both players for the 1985 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in the then Soviet Union and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea – NAN
