Samson Siasia is a “lucky man” as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have on Monday reduced his life ban by FIFA in a match-fixing case to five years.
The world governing body had wielded the big stick on Siasia two years ago after investigations revealed that he had links in the last to the notorious Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Perumal.
Siasia always maintained that he was innocent of all the charges.
CAS said in its Monday statement:
“Mr Siasia is banned for 5 (five) years from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level (administrative, sports or any other) as of 16 August 2019.
“The imposed fine of CHF 50,000 (fifty thousand Swiss Francs) on Mr Siasia is set aside.
“The Panel determined the imposition of a life ban to be disproportionate for a first offence which was committed passively and which had not had an adverse or immediate effect on football stakeholders, and that a five-year ban would still achieve the envisaged aim of punishing the infringement committed by Mr Siasia.”
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The former Super Eagles star and coach will be able to return to football administration and management when his ban expires in August 2024.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
