Former Super Eagles gaffer, Samson Siasia has not ruled out approaching the Supreme Court in Lausanne, Switzerland to challenge the five-year ban verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS on Monday.
Siasia was handed a life ban and ordered to pay 50,000 Swiss francs by the world football governing body FIFA over match-fixing allegations. But the Nigerian appealed to CAS for justice.
The former Dream Team coach however had his punishment reduced to a five-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) on Monday.
In an exclusive chat with The Crest, Siasia disclosed that he received the CAS verdict with mixed feelings as he was expecting outright pardon from the appeal.
“Yes, I am happy that CAS has confirmed that FIFA was harsh on me,” Siasia said, “But I am still not satisfied because the five year ban does not support my innocence. I think CAS is just trying to pacify FIFA and save them the embarrassment of totally letting me out of the hooks.
“I may have to approach the Supreme Court of Switzerland to challenge the five years. But I will have to discuss that with my lawyer on Wednesday (today) after which we will make our decisions known to the public.”
According to CAS, a life ban for a first time offender who was also passive in the said offence was inappropriate though such acts need to be punished all the same to serve as a deterrent to others. But Siasia says CSA ‘was somehow economical with the truth’. What is ‘passive in the offence?’ That means I am innocent, he says.
Siasia also complained that if not for the assistance of kind-hearted Nigerians and friends, his contributions to football in Nigeria and globally would have been ruined with the life ban.
“He said: “I wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and Secretary to the Government for assistance when I was looking for $250,000 to go to CAS but till this moment there has been nothing from the government.
“The Ministry of Sports and the Nigeria Football Federation even treated me like an orphan. Not a word to encourage me. But I thank God. Everyone who can read inbetween the lines will now know that I am innocent of the allegation.
If Siasia made good his threat to seek redress at the Lausanne, he will be following the footstep of former FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke who challenged his 10-year ban from soccer for financial wrongdoing in 2019 at the Swiss Supreme Court.