Former Nigeria national team player and coach, Mr Samson Siasia has released a short video online where he is begging Nigerians to help contribute N500 naira each, so he can raise the sum of €250,000 to enable him pay the legal fees to fight his FIFA Life Ban.
According to him, if 200,000 Nigerians can assist him with N500each, he will be able to reach his target of €250,000 needed to fight the case.
Samson Siasia who was given a ban from all football-related activities for life following an alleged match-fixing probe by the Ethics Committee of the world governing body FIFA, said he is taking FIFA to CAS.
It was only last year (2019) the adjudicator chamber of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee found Mr Samson Siasia “guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes concerning the manipulation of matches in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.”
The case which was said to be the latest to emerge from FIFA’s long-running investigation into the activities of Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal, who FIFA has called a “known match-fixer” and who has admitted such activity in several interviews.
FIFA said that Siasia was banned for life “from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.”
The Independent Ethics Committee in its statement last year on the life ban, had said the formal ethics proceedings against Mr Samson Siasia were initiated on 11th February 2019 and stem from an extensive investigation into matches that Mr Wilson Raj Perumal attempted to manipulate for betting purposes. The committee said:
“This large-scale investigation was conducted by FIFA via its competent departments and in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and authorities.
In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Mr Siasia had breached act 11 (bribery) of the 2009 edition of the FIFA code of ethics and banned him for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level. Also, a fine in the amount of CJF 50,000 has been imposed on Mr Siasia.
The decision was notified to Mr Siasia today, the date on which the ban comes into force.
Now my question is, why is Samson Siasia calling on Nigerians with a matter that rarely concern them, given that it is a case of an alleged fraud… nothing wey person no go see and hear for this country…#siasia #samsonsiasia