Samson Siasia, former Super
Eagles coach, has appealed the life ban slammed on him by world football
governing body FIFA.
In a statement on Thursday, Siasia’s lawyer filed the appeal to FIFA on August 27, 2019.
The statement also said that
another appeal was sent to the Court of Arbitration for Sports on August 29,
2019.
Siasia however denied involvement
in illegal act that are contrary to the ethics of football.
“I wish to state that I have
never been and would never be a party to any form of unethical conduct or
perversion in the discharge of my duties in any capacity,” Siasia said.
“I built my career in the
football industry on the foundation of hard work, integrity, consistency and
God.
“In all my career, I have done
nothing but serve my country clubs to the best of my personal and professional
ability, with all my strength and might, with discipline, pride and passion and
an awareness that it is a privilege to be an ambassador of our great nation.
“It is my greatest hope and
belief that my country also stands by and with me at a time like this.
“The entire proceedings and
decision was only brought to my notice on August 16, 2019 when the news broke
in the public domain and friends and family started to call.
“I was totally unaware of the
proceedings until I heard about FIFA’s decision.
“While I may not be able to
publicly divulge the details and specifics, I think it fit to inform you that I
have appealed against FIFA’s Decision and you all will probably hear the
results like you hear about the ban.
“I am currently taking legal
advice. My lawyer Austin Otah has been liaising with the NFF and their counsel.
Emotional laden Siasia added: “I
thank everyone who has supported me in one way or the other. I must state that
this is the most trying period of my life.
“I am still dealing with the pain
and challenges of my mother being kidnapped again and fighting to secure her
release.
“I urge the nation to support me
with prayers, goodwill and support of all kinds. The demands are very heavy.
Otah, however, reacted to the
appeal: “We have actually assisted Samson Siasia to file his appeal and we are
awaiting FIFA to acknowledge the receipt of the appeal.
“We are awaiting feedback from
FIFA and CAS.
“The decision of FIFA requires
Siasia to appeal to CAS.
“We are exploring an internal
appeal mechanism, exceptionally with the Appeal Committee of FIFA.
“But that notwithstanding we are
still to ensure that his appeal rights are not impeded in anyway.”
On August 16, 2019, FIFA banned
Siasia from the game of football for life, following a match-fixing
investigation.
The adjudicatory chamber of
FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee stated that the former Nigerian coach
pleaded guilty of having accepted “bribes in relation to the manipulation of
matches in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics”.
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