The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has now set up a Panel of jurists that would hear the appeal filed by former Super Eagles’ Chief Coach Samson Siasia against world football governing body FIFA following the life ban slammed on him on allegations of bribery and match fixing.
According to FIFA statement on August 16, 2019, “The Ethics Committee has found Mr Siasia, a former official of the Nigeria Football Federation, guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches in violation of the Fifa Code of Ethics,” said a FIFA statement.
It was however gathered that the CAS hearing of the appeal will now take place at the CAS Court Office, Avenue de Beaumont 2, 1012, Lausanne, Switzerland on March 19, 2020.
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) wrote Siasia on December 27, 2019 inviting Samson Siasia and FIFA representatives and their witnesses to appear at the hearing which has been fixed for Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 9.30 hours Swiss time.
The embattled former Eagles Coach has started a GoFundMe appeal to raise money to be able to attend the CAS hearing in order to clear his name concerning the FIFA allegations.
Siasia coached Nigeria’s Super Eagles between 2010-2011 and returned for another spell in 2016 and also served as coach of the country’s Under-20 and Under-23 sides at different times.
But the FIFA indictment did not state if it was during either of these periods that the alleged infractions were committed.
Siasia has continued to protest his innocence, saying he had no recollection of ever agreeing to manipulate any football match and has also said in previous interviews that members of the Super Eagles team he played with have not offered him the kind of support he needed.
“But I will fight to the last to clear my name because I know that I did nothing wrong.
“I only heard about all of this for the first time just like everybody else on social media and then I got a call from (NFF President) Amaju Pinnick asking me if I had seen any letter from FIFA.
“I said no and he asked me to check. That was when I checked my email. But I know that I am innocent and I am asking everybody to help me raise this money to clear my name.”
