World sports highest conflict resolution body, the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has again postponed a hearing on the appeal filed by former Super Eagles Manager, Samson Siasia, over his life ban by FIFA to February 2021.
The case, earlier scheduled for March 19, 2020, was first postponed to today, October 6, 2020, before the latest shift in date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hearing is expected to now hold at the CAS Court Office, Avenue de Beaumont 2, 1012, Lausanne, Switzerland on February 3, 2021.
CAS first wrote to Siasia on December 27, 2019, inviting him and FIFA representatives and their witnesses to appear at the hearing, which was to hold at 9.30 hours Swiss time.
The Arbitral panel is called upon to resolve the dispute between Samson Siasia and FIFA over alleged match-fixing.
In August last year, the world football governing body, FIFA, pronounced a life ban from all football activity on the former Nigeria international, saying he had been found guilty of accepting an offer to receive bribes in order to manipulate matches. As if that was not enough, FIFA also slammed a fine of CHF 50,000 ($51,000) on Siasia, who led Nigeria U20 and U23 teams to second-place finishes at the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Siasia is pleading innocence of the charges, saying that FIFA’s position on the matter was unfounded and presumptuous.
FIFA claimed it wrote Siasia twice to explaining his connection with the notorious Asian match-fixer, Raj Peruval, adding that the coach ignored both mails, hence the sentence.
Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Siasia confessed he has suffered tremendous hardship for an offence ‘I know nothing about.’’ He added that it has been difficult for him to explain how he got himself into the problem.
He claims that he has never met the man he is accused of conspiring with to fix matches, adding that the man once called to offer him a coaching role in Australia, which later did not materialise because they could not agree on salary and other emoluments.
“This issue has been dragging for more than one year and unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to help myself.
“Football is the only job I know and to be barred from working in the game is the worst nightmare anybody can face. It is quite unfortunate that help is coming from anywhere.”
