The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has reduced the life ban from football activities slammed on former Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia, to five years and also quashed the 50,000 Swiss francs fine on the ex-international.
According to CAS, “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 offense that 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.”
The CAS panel acknowledged the need for sanctions to be sufficiently high enough to eradicate bribery and especially match-fixing in football.
However, the Panel considered in the particular circumstances of this matter that it would be inappropriate and excessive to impose a financial sanction in addition to the five-year ban, since the ban already incorporated a financial punishment in eliminating football as a source of revenue for Mr. Siasia, and considering that Mr. Siasia had not obtained any gain or pecuniary benefit from his unethical behavior.
