August 04, (THEWILL) – Embattled football manager, Samson Siasia, who endured the infamy of a life ban from football slammed on him by world football governing body, FIFA, before it was reduced to a five-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has decidedly taken FIFA to court.
In very direct terms, Siasia’s suit demands among others, that his earlier conviction based on FIFA’s investigations be overturned, that FIFA refund the 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,000) fine handed to him and which he duly paid, and that FIFA also reverse the five-year ban on his coaching license.
The terms were contained in the case Siasia, who is also an American citizen, filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. They include Siasia’s demand for compensation for the “damage” done to his reputation by FIFA with its investigation of an alleged bribery case.
As THEWILL reported FIFA’s investigations in 2019 of the notorious Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Perumal revealed a Siasia link and the former Nigerian international and coach was hit with a life ban which precluded him from all football-related activities, administrative, sports or any related affairs at all levels, international and domestic.
The former Nantes attacking midfielder was also fined over $54,000 but CAS not only knocked off that fine, it ruled that a life ban for Samson Siasia was a “disproportionate” penalty for a passive offence that did not earn Siasia any money in the end and “had not had an adverse or immediate effect on football stakeholders.”
CAS allowed for a five-year ban as restitution based on their position that even if Siasia did not earn from the deal, the coach erred by not reporting the matter and the offer made to him when he was asked to fix matches by a club official at a club he sought to coach.
In the details of his suit against FIFA, Siasia is litigating the Football body’s handling of his case, the conclusions of their investigations and the extent of the punishment meted out to him. The case file read in part: “Here, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”), the worldwide governing body of soccer, exercised governmental function when FIFA investigated and adjudicated a charge of bribery, a crime, against Samson Siasia (“Siasia”), a United States citizen, which function has traditionally been exclusively the domain of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Justice, (USDOJ) and the Judicial branch of government or the State government.
“After finding Siasia guilty, FIFA then imposed a fine of 50,000 Swiss Francs and a lifetime ban from using his professional coaching license that was issued by the U.S. Soccer Federation. As a result, the defendant is in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, (“Section 1983”) among others, for depriving the plaintiff of his constitutional rights under colour of state law.”
THEWILL believes Siasia’s suit leans heavily on his American citizenship and that aspect makes the legal path it will follow an interesting development to follow. Siasia’s legal counsel Nitor V. Egbarin, filed the suit on his behalf and they made compelling arguments which FIFA will be called to counter.
For instance, Siasia contended that FIFA lacked the powers to sanction him as only the United States had the legal backing to charge him for the bribery offence for which he was dealt a lifetime ban from the football body. Instead, his argument holds that FIFA relied on Swiss bribery laws to effect his conviction.
In this suit, the relevant section argues this point by claiming: “In convicting Siasia of bribery, FIFA relied on Swiss bribery law. If any crime was committed, only the FBI or Georgia State Police could investigate and bring charges of commercial bribery.”
The coach also claimed that FIFA failed to follow due process in its investigation into the allegations against him before his eventual conviction for bribery. The suit therefore argues: “Siasia was not aware of the bribery charge for which that FIFA indicted him until FIFA published to the whole world in or around Aug. 16, 2019, FIFA’s conviction and imposition of a life ban on Siasia from using the coach license issued under the laws of the United States.”
In conclusion, these claims mean that FIFA’s fine and the decision to revoke his license constituted “cruel and unusual punishment” which, as far as Siasia was concerned, “violated provisions of the eighth amendment of the US law.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
