FIFA bans ex-head coach of Nigerian national football team, Samson Siasia for life

The FIFA has banned the former head coach of Nigerian national football team Samson Siasia for life effective from today. The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee Siasia was found guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

The formal ethics proceedings against Siasia were initiated on 11 February 2019 and stem from an extensive investigation into matches that Wilson Raj Perumal attempted to manipulate for betting purposes. This large-scale investigation was conducted by FIFA via its competent departments and in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and authorities.

In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Siasia had breached article 11 (Bribery) of the 2009 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics and banned him for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.

In addition, a fine in the amount of CHF 50,000 has been imposed on Siasia.

The 51-year-old Siasia played 51 times as a striker for the Nigerian national team and later coached various national youth sides before a spell as senior coach in 2016. The case is the latest to emerge from FIFA's long-running investigation into the activities of Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal, who FIFA has called a "known match-fixer" and who has admitted such activity in several interviews.