legal team preparing defence, says Siasia – TheNigerialawyer

Former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia on Saturday appealed for
calm over the news of his life ban from the game by world football
governing body FIFA on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Siasia was banned for
life from the game following a match-fixing probe by FIFA.

Siasia, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja through an associate,
Prince Opukiri Jones-Ere at the main bowl of the Moshood Abiola
National Stadium, said the matter was currently being looked into
by his lawyer.

The former Super Eagles forward said he was hopeful of a
positive conclusion of the matter.

“We want to please plead with everyone to be calm as the issue
has been handed over to a lawyer and he is looking at the case.

“So, at this moment, Siasia will be unavailable to speak to the
press.

“I want to also appeal to you all to be patient with us,
considering the fact that he is already going through so much
stress with regards to his mother’s kidnap which we are dealing
with at the moment.

“We appreciate you all for your concerns and solidarity messages
which have been received from the onset of this situation.

“So, my kind appeal is that you all give us some time for the
lawyer to look into the case and as soon as possible, hopefully by
next week, we will come up with our position and further action to
be taken on the issue.

“On behalf of the family of Siasia, we want to once again thank
you for your concerns and we pray that this will end well,” he
said.

FIFA had said in a statement on Friday that the adjudicatory
chamber of their independent Ethics Committee found the 51-year-old
Siasia guilty.

He was “guilty of having accepted that he will receive bribes in
relation to manipulation of matches in violation of FIFA Code of
Ethics.”

Siasia played 51 times as a striker for the Nigerian national
team and later coached various national youth sides before his
first spell as senior coach in 2010.

His case is the latest to emerge from FIFA’s long-running
investigation into the activities of Singaporean Wilson Raj
Perumal, whom FIFA has called a “known match fixer”.

He has admitted such activity in several interviews.

FIFA said Siasia was banned for life “from all football-related
activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national
and international levels.”

Siasia was also fined CHF 50,000 (41,997.1 pounds).

The former Nigerian international was appointed Super Eagles
head coach from 2010 to Oct. 2011 and he was reappointed in
2016.

NAN reports that FIFA had in 1989 banned Nigeria 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)

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